E 375 
.B78 
Copy 1 



SPEECH 



OF 



Mr LYNN BOYD, OF KENTUCKY 

IN REPLY TO THE HON. JOHN WHITE, RELATIVE TO THE CHARGE OF EAR- 
GAIN BETWEEN xMESSRS. ADAMS AND CLaY, IN THE PRESIDENTIAL 

ELECTION OF 1S24-2.J. 



House of Representatives, Tuesday, 
April 30, 1844, the Bill to regulate the 
Tariff of Duties on imports being under 
consideration in Committee of the Whole 

Mr. Boyd obtained the fioor, and said: 
My constituents feel a very deep interest 
in t!ie proper and permanent adjustment of 
this Tarifi^ qunstion. They are in favor of 
a Tarifi' for revenue and opposed to the 
principle of protection, which they believe 
to be unwise for the nation, and unequal 
and unjust to themselves. Sir, my con- 
stituents are in the main an agricultural 
people; they come not here to importune 
you for exclusive favors of any kind — 
Whilst the capilalists of the country band 
together, and as in a common cause, are 
seen perpetually besieging the Halls of 
legislation for Banks and Tariffd, and eve- 
ry other conceivable scheme of monopoly, 
by means of which to swell their over- 
grown profits, my constituents, in com- 
iTion with their brethren of the producing 
class throughout the Union, are found at 
]iome upon their farms or in their work- 
shops, content to rely upon their own 
strong arms and the generous bounties of 
nature forcompetence, comfort and wealth. 
Scrupulously abstaining from the invasion 
of the business and profits of others, by 
means of partial legislation, they ask in turn 
to be let alone in the enJHyment of the 
fruits of their honest imlustry. Sir, the 
demand is so just and equitable, that with a 
tine regard to correct principles of legisia- , 



tlon, you cannot, you dare not disregard it. 

But, Sir, I did not rise to make a speech 
on the Tarili'. Hoping the bill upon your 
table may be passed, 1 must, with the in- 
dulgence of the Committee, avail myself 
o! the present occasion to say a few words 
in reply to my colleague, [3Ir. White,] who 
has thought proper to introduce and build 
a whole hour's speech upon the subject 
matter of a letter addressed by me to 
Messrs. Coles and Hopkins of Va. in reply 
to certain interrogatories, touching the 
Presidential election of 1824-5 and Mr. 
Clay's course in regard to it, and the Bank- 
rupt law of 1841. 

Sir, 1 regret the necessity which com- 
pels me to take part in the discussion of 
matters so foreign to the subject of the bill 
before us; but I have no alternative left 
me. It was not I who dragged the subject 
of the letter alluded to into this discussion; 
for that, my colleague (Mr. White) is alone 
responsible. 

Before I approach the subject of that 
letter, I wish to say to my colleague and 
to the country, that I am among the last 
upon this fioor, or (as I trust) in the world, 
who would, unjustly or ungenerously, at- 
tack the reputatiou of any man on earth 
for political purposes ; and if in what I 
have said or shall hereafter say, on this 
subject, my colleague or any other human 
being, shall point out any error of lact in- 
to which I may have fallen. I will say to 
him .and the country, that there is nothing 



in ihc composition of my nature which 
wouM pre\ent me from makm;? prompt 
and ample roparation. Hut, Sir, whilst 
with pniJe and pli-a-ure, I wouKl do this, 
1 must be permitted londd, thai in relation 
10 this or any other matter of public coii- 
ceri!!:»f"nt, whetlier alTeL-iini^ public men 
or public measnrca, there is no power 
under h»'a\en that shall restrain me from 
its iiivestiijation, with all tliat freedom and 
fullne.'s uliich, in my jud^nuent, its impor- 
lance demands. 

The letter leferred to asjumos directly 
or bv implication, that between Mr. Adams 
and ^fi'. Cl;ty, during' the Presidential Can- 
vass of 15*24, there were unfriendly rela- 
tions, uiiich begaii as far b^ck a? the ne- 
gotiation of the treaty of(i!ieni in J8l 1, 
and continued down to the |)eriod when 
the popular vote was cast beiweon liiose 
jfentlenicn, as opposing candidates for tlit- 
Presidency in 1S24; that Mr. Adams was 
unpopular in the whole Western Country 
anii especially in Kentucky ; that a jrenc- 
rai belief existed in that State, crmtirm- 
ed if not produced by Mr. Clay himself, 
that Mr. A'lams, as a slaiesinaii, was hos- 
tile to tilt.- interests of thai section of the 
Union; that a direct issue was made be- 
tween those srentlemen as early as IS'l'i, 
in reference to that subject, involving "er- 
rors both as to matters of fact and matters 
of opinion;'' that the exposition then 
proniised by Mr. Clay, was never made; 
that prior to lite election of President in 
IS25 by the House of Hepresentatives, the 
Lei'i^l ilure of Kentucky, in concurrenre 
with the will of the people, requested Mr. 
Clay aiid the Kentucky delegation to vote 
for Gen. Jackson ; that some time before 
the election, it was slated by .Mr. Clay's 
confidential friends in Kentucky, that he 
would be Seciclary of State if iSlr. Adams 
were made President ; that in conseciucnce 
of that information, letters were written to 
members of Conjjress to induce them to 
vote for .Mr. Adams; that Mr. .Adams w;is 
elected Prcsidi;nt by the votes of Mr. 
Clav arid his friends, and did appoint .Mr. 
Clay Secretary of Stale; and, finally, that 
bv an invesiigition in the .Senate of Ken- 
tucky in iH'ib, and subsequent disclosures, 
it was made to appear, that those who 
stated in K'Miturky brfore the election, that 
Mr- Clay would be .'Secretary of Stale il 
JMr. Adams were elected President, did 
go upon the authority of a letter from Mr. 
(jlay himself. 



HOSTILITY OF MESSRS. CL.\Y AND .VO.XMS. 

In proof of the unpopularity of Mr. 
.Vdams in the West, prior to lS'2o, I may 
rely with confidence on the langua^^e then 
held almt)st without exception by Western 
presses and public men. IN'o man old 
enough to recollect passing,' events durinff 
the ten years preceduii^ 1S"25, can be igi;o- 
rant of the fact. Pet haps it was in part 
owiiijr to !iis parentage, political education 
and geographical position; but no small 
share of it was attributable to impressions 
created by Mr. Clay hiinsolf. 

Il was charired by Mr. Adams, thai Mr. 
Clay's cfTorts to injure him comnenced at 
the negotiation of the Treaty of Peace, at 
Ghent, in ISll. In one of the despatches 
of the .\merican Commissioners, dated 
December 25ih ISl 1, will be found the 
following passage: \iz. 

" If ihey. (the Bri;isti Commissioners,) ask- 
ed ine"n-dvi;;aiion of the Misiissippi as .i new 
claim, Ihey could not e.xpect we should ijrant it 
without an fqiiivalent; if they asked it be- 
cause it w.Ts [granted in ITS.J, Ihey must re- 
cognise the claim of ilie people of the United 
Slates to the liberty to iisb, and to dry and 
cure lish, in question. To place both points 
beyond all future controversy, a vuijoiitij of 
vs'tlcUriinited to offer to admit an article con- 
fuming both rights ;or, we offered at the same 
lime to lie silent in the treaty upon both; and 
to leaveont.altosether, the article delining the 
boundary from the Lake of the Woods west- 
ward.'" 

Mr. Adams in his book upon the Missis- 
sippi and fisheries, page 15'.', shows how the 
peculiar phraseology canae to be einiiloyed in 
ihat dtspatch, viz : 

"The draught having been passed round 
to all the members of the mission for revisaU 
was brought back to me by Mr. Russell, with 
an altoraiion, which, he said, was desired, not 
by him, but l)y .Mr. Clay, to say. instead of 
"we otlLied,"' "a majority of us determined to 
offer." 

On the same day, Mr. Russell wrote a 
separate letter to the Secretary of State, 
stating that he should thereafter coiwmuni- 
<aie the views which led the minority to 
difVer with the majority on that quesiinn. 
Accordingly, on the lOih February 1815, 
while Mr. Clay and himself were together 
in I'aris, he wrote a long letter lo Mr. 
Monroe, then Secretary of Stale, setting 
forth the grounds of diflerence, and ani- 
madverting upon the posiiion assumed by 
the majority. In a publication made \m 
Boston on the 27ih June, iS-i'-i, Mr. Uus- 



.t3y^ 



^ c 






?ell said, "To the only member of the 
L Mission who had a direct intere.-^t in the 
•case, [meaning Mr. Clay,] I did show at 
— the tune the letter written at Paiii." 
!, When it is considered, that tlie alteration 
; of the joint letter of the Cominissioneis 
at Giiciit, was not desired by IMr. Russell, 
bill by, Mr. Clay, it appears sin;Mjlar that 
> the furnier should have taken so much pains 
to explain the irrountls of dillerenre be- 
tween the majority and minority. Be the 
true reason wliat it may, there is abundant 
evidence, that Mr. Adams considered it a 
joip.t contrivance of Messrs. llussell and 
Clay to effect his political tuin. 

Mr. Russell's Letter was marked "Pri- 
vate," as if intended to be seen only bv 
Mr. Monroe, who was expected to suc- 
ceed Mr. Madison as President and miirht 
select Mr. Adams as his Sfcretary of State, 
thereby placin'j him in tiie line of "safe pre- 
cedents'' for the Presidency. It appears 
to liave been mislaid and forgotten. Mr. 
Monroe was elected President and ap- 
pointed Mr. Adams Secretary of State. 
Mr. Clay's friends were not at all pleased 
^vith this arrangement. Tiie • Kentucky 
Reporter, Mr. Clay's peculiar organ in 
Jventucky, then edited by Mr. Smith, who 
%vas connected by marriage with his fami- 
ly,, on the I4ih July. ISiS, used the fol- 
lowing language : viz. 

"Mr. Adams is designated by tiie Presi- 
dent and his presses as the heir apparent, the 
next successor to the Presidency. Since the 
principle was introduced, there has been a 
rapid degeneracy in the Cliief Magistrate; 
and the prospect of still greater degeneracy, 
is strong and alarming. Admit the people 
should acqiiiesce in the Presidential appoint- 
ment of Mr. Adams to that high office; who 
again will he choose as his successor? Will 
it be Joiiah Quincy, H. G. Otis, or Rufus 
King^ An aristocrat, at least, if not a trai- 
Toii, will be our portion." 

From all the politicians who were near- 
ly allied to xMr. Clay, were heard expres- 
sions exhibiting their dissatisfaction and 
distrust of Mr. Adams. When in 1S19, 
the Treaty was concluded by Mr. Adams 
as Secretary of State, which secured Flori- 
da to the United States and ceded Texas 
to Spain, Mr. Clay came out in open op- 
position. In March 18-20, he off'ered reso- 
lutions against the Treaty in the Mouse of 
Representatives and made a speech against 
it. He did more. By private letters he 
created distrust of Mr. Adams' integrity 



and patriotism as a negotiator. One of 
those letters dated 16th April, 18:20, ad- 
dressed to the Editor of the Western Ar- 
gus, found its way to the j)ublic in lS:i8, 
and contains the following paragraph: viz. 

"Theic is a rumor in the City which will 
^astonish you, in regard to lh<; conclusion of 
I that treaty. It has been asserted by a mem- 
I her of Congress, as coming from high authori- 
I ty, that, prior to the conclusion of tiie treaty, 
it was known to Mr. Adams tliat we coulit 
liave obtained more than was conveyed to us;. 
j that is, that the Spanish negotiator was allovv- 
! ed by his instructions, to grant us more, but 
j tiiat less was taken, because the Spanish min- 
ister declared, if he went up to his instruc- 
: tions, he should be afraid of some personal 
I injury, upon his return home! Wliat will 
you in the West think of ttie wisdom of tliat 
I policy which consents to surrender an import- 
ant part of our territory from such a motive?" 

What followed in the West, Mr. Adams 
himself describes in his book ^>n the Fishe- 
ries and the Mississippi, first page' of th& 
Introduction: viz. 

"In the course of last summer, (of 1820 
I was apprized by a friend, that rumors verjr 
unfavorable to my reputation, even for integ- 
rity, were industriously circulated in the 
western country. That it was said I had 
made a proposition at Ghent to grant to the 
British the right to navigate the Mississippi, 
in return for the Newfoundland fisheries, and 
that this was represented as, at least, a high 
misdemeanor." ''He said, the proposal was 
to be represented (as an otTence) so that it 
was charged exclusively upon me; and that I 
should hear more about it ere long." 

In January, lS-2-2, the documents rela- 
tive to the Ghent Negotiation were called 
for, and in February laid before the House of 
Representatives. Mr. Adams says, that while 
these documents were lying on the table, "the 
correspondence from Washington, and the 
newspa[)ers indoctrinated b}' it, had not been 
equally inactive. Through these channels, 
the public was assured, that the proposal of 
offerini,"" the navigation of the Mississippi for 
the fisheries hail been made by me; that Mr. 
Clay had uniformly declared that he would 
not sign the treaty with such an article in it; 
and that the proposal had been finally set 
aside by Mr. Bayard's having changed sid«.v 
and come over to the opinion of the minority.* • 

In April IS22, through some mysteri- 
ous inffuence never yet explained, Mr. 
Russell's private letter, written in 1815> 
was called for by the House of Represen- 
tatives; but it was said to have been lost or 
mislaid. Mr. Russell, however, furnished 
a duplicate, and ia June the call was re-^ 



neweJ. On tl)at occasion, Mr. B. Hardin, 
a member of liie House Iroin Keiiliicky, is 
xeported to have said, tliat this letter 
'•would siiow the western people, in what 
manner iheir interests were disregarded or 
sacrificed; thai the ConlIni^sioners [at 
Client] offered to give up the navigation 
of the Mississippi tb secure the Fisheries 
of the East." 

Mr. Russell's original letter was now 
found, and with the duplicate was sub- 
mitted to Mr. Adams who detected inany 
difVerences between them which he expos- 
ed in a severe commentary. The two 
papers and the commentary were all sent 
to the House, and the effect was to dis- 
credit Mr. Russell allojieiher. Mr. Adams 
followed up the advai.'tage which he had 
obtained by Mr. Russelfs alterations of his 
letter, repeatedly insinuating as well in his 
commentary as in subsequent publiralious, 
thai he considered Mr. Clay at the bottom 
of the whole scheme. A single extract 
from his Book on the Fisheries and the 
Mississippi, page -251, wilj be sufficient to 
prove this point : viz. 

"The perusal of Mr. Russell's duplicate, 
t^sclosed to me the mystery of ruin which 
liad been breuing against me, from the. very 
day after the signature of the treaty of Ghent 
]t was by representations like those of thai 
letter, that tlic minds of my fellow-citizens 
in the west, bad for a succession of years been 
abused aud ulcerated against me. That let- 
ter, indeed, inculpated the wliole majority of 
the mission of Ghent; but subsidiary slander [ 
had performed its part of pointing all the 
guilt and fastening all the responsibility of the 
crime upon me." 

So direct were Mr. Adams' alliisinns to 
Mr. Clay as tlic author of a dishonorable 
intrigue to destroy him, that the latter was 
obliged to come before the public. ^Ir. 
Adams' book reviewing the controversy, 
'.vas published about the 1st October IS^-^. 
In December of that year, the following 
letter appeared in the National Intelligen- 
cer : viz. 

Lexington, IGih Nov. 1822." 
"Gentlemen : I hav^ witnessed, with very 

i;reat regret, the unhapjiy controversy whitii 
ia» ariren between two of my late colleagiips 
at Ghent. In the course of the several pul/li- 
calions of which it ha-* i-pcn the occasion, and 
jiartitul.irly in the a|)p»n(!ix to a |iamphlrt. 
■tUiich has been recently published ly the 
honorable John (^uincy Adams, I think there 
are ^omf > rrors ^no doubt niiintfntional.i both 
aS to rual'i'.rs of fac; and matters of oj.inion.. 



in regard to the transactions at Ghent, relat- 
ing to tlie navigation of tlie Mississippi, and 
certain liberties claimed by the United States 
in the tlsheries, and to the part which I bore 
in those transactions. These important inte- 
rests are now well secured, and, as it respects 
that of the navigation of the Mississippi, left 
as it ought to be, on the same firm footing 
with the navigation of all other rivers of the 
confederacy, the hojie may be confidently 
cherished, that it irever will hereafter be deem- 
ed a fit subject of negotiation with any foreign 
power. An account, therefore, of what oc- 
curred in the negotiations at Ghent, on these, 
two subjects, is not perhaps necessary to the 
present or future security of any of the rights 
of the nation, and is only interesting as ap|)er- 
taining to its past history. With these im- 
pressions, and being extremely unwilling to 
present myself at any time before the public, 
I had almost resolved to remain silent, and 
thus expose myself to the inference of an ac- 
quiescence ill the correctness of all the state- 
ments made by botti my colleagues; but I have 
on niore reflection, thought, that it may be 
expected of me, and be considered as a duty 
on tny part, to contribute all in my power to- 
wards a full and faithful understanding of the 
transactions referred to. I'lider this convic- 
tion, I will, at some time more propitious than 
the present, to calm and dispassionate con- 
sideration, and when there can be no misin- 
terpretation of motives, lay before the public 
a narrati\e of those transactions as 1 under- 
stood them. I will not, at this time, be even 
provoked (it would at any time be inexpressibly 
painful to me, to find it necessary) to enter 
the field of disputation with either of my late 
colleagues. 

"As to that part of the otlicial correspon- 
dence at Giient, which had not been commu- 
nicated to the public by the President of the 
United States, prior to the last session of Con- 
gress, I certainly knew of no pulilic conside- 
rations, recpiiring it to be withheld from gene- 
ral inspection. But I had no knowledge of 
the intention of the honorable Mr. Floyd, to 
call for it, nor of the call itself, through the 
House of Representatives, until I saw it an- 
nounced in the public prints. Nor had I any 
knowledge of the subseciuent call which was 
made for the letter of the honorable Mr. Rus- 
sell, or the intention to make it, until I derived 
it from the same channel. 

" I will thank you to publish this note in the 
National Inielli^encer, and to accept assu- 
rances of the high respect of vonr obedient 
servant, H.CL.W." 

The next day the following reply appear- 
ed in the same paper: 

T<» the Editor of the -Xdtional Intelligencer. 

"Gentlemen: In your paper of yesterday 
I have observed a note from Mr. Henry Clay, 
uhich rc'juircs some notice from me. 



5 



"After expressing ♦he regret of the wilier 
at the unhappy controversy which has arisen 
between two of his late collea-^ncs at Ghent, 
it proceeds to say, that in the course of the 
several piihlicaiions of which it has been the 
occasion, and particularly in the appendix to 
the pamphlet recently published by me, "he 
thinks tiiere are some errors, fno doabt unin- 
tentional,) both as to matters of fact and mat 
ters of opinion, in regard to the transactions 
at Ghent rclatin;,^ to llie navi;jation of the 
Mississippi and certain hl)erties claimed by 
the United States in the lisheries, and to the 
part \vhich he bore in those transactions." 

"■'Concurring; with Mr. Clay in the regret 
that the controversy should ever have arisen, 
I have only to find consolation in the reflec- 
tion, that from the seed time of ISlt to the 
harvest of \S1^1, the contest was never of my 
•seeking, and that since I have been drawn 
into it, whatever I have said, written, or done 
in it, has been in the face of day and under 
the responsibility of my name. 

'•' Had Mr. Clay thought it advisable, now 
to specify any erroY of fact or of imputed 
opinion which he thinks contained in the ap- 
pendix to niy pamphlet, or in any other part 
of my share in the publication, it would have 
<i-iven me great pleasure to rectify, by candid 
acknowledgment, any such error, of which, 
by the light that ^he would have shed on the 
subject, I should have been convinced. At 
whatever period hereafter, he shall deem the 
accepted time has come, to publish his promis- 
ed narrative, I shall, if yet living, be ready 
■with equal cheerfulness, to acknowledge in- 
dicated error, and to vindicate contested truth. 

"But, as by the adjournment of that publi- 
cation to a period " more propitious than the 
present to calm and dispassionate considera- 
tion, and when there can be no misinterpre- 
tation of motives," it may chance to be post- 
poned until both of us shall have been summon- 
ed to account for all our errors before a higher 
tribunal than that of our country, I feel my- 
self now called upon to say, that le^the ap- 
propriate dispositions, when and how they will, 
expose the open day and secret night of the 
transactions at Ghent, the statements both of 
fact and opinion in the papers which I Iiave 
\vritten and published, in relation to this con- 
troversy, will, in every particular, essential 
or important to the interests of the nation, or 
to the character of Mr. Clay, be found to 
abide unshaken, the test of human scrutiny, 
of talents, and of time. 

"JOHNQUINCY ADAMS. 
Washington, 18th Dec. 1822." 

Mr. Adams hero evidently considered 
Mr. Clay an actor in this attack upon him, 
" from the seed time of "ii814 to the har- 
vest of 1S22 ;" and he seems iohave been 
inspired with a prophelic spirit as to Mr. 



Clay's exposition. It is likely to be post- 
poned not only until those gentlemen, 
but all of us shall be summoned before 
that hijiher tribunal. Whether his opin- 
ion of Mr. Clay's conduct, was well or ill- 
founded may be inferred from the following 
circuuistauces: 

In the summer of 1S2-2, a somewhat 
elaborate attack on iMr. Adams was pre- 
pared by the Editor of the Kentucky Ar- 
;rus, after, as he staled to the public ill 
1828, a consultation with Mr. Clay at his 
ltou.se in Frankfort, The manuscript was 
sent to Mr. Clay at Le.xington, and by 
him tran.sniitted to Cincinnati, Ohio, where 
it was published late i« the summer, or 
early in the fall, in a newspaper called the 
" Liberty Hall and Cincinnati Gazette," 
over the signature of '• Wayne." 

Mr. WjiirK desired to know who the 
writer of " Wayne'' was? 

Mr. Boyd said, he had always under- 
stood him to be JMr. Amos Kendall. 

Mr. White. Certainly. 

The numbers of " Wayne" were writ- 
ten with the obvious purpose of promot- 
ing Mr. Clay's views upon the Presidency, 
particularly in the State of Ohio. How 
they speak of Mr. Adams, then considered 
his only dangerous rival in that State, a. 
few extracts will show. In the third No^ 
are the following passages, viz.: 

" Ohio presents no candidate for the 
' Presidency at the approaching election." 
* * * " At the head of those whose 
' pretensions are entitled to our serious 
'consideration, is John Quincy Adams, 
' the present Secretary of State. Will 
' Ohio choose him?" * * * 

"Instead of opening new avenues for our 
commerce, is it not to be feared that, in some 
future treaty, to secure some paltry privilege 
to an Eastern interest, he would render those 
which already exist, a curse, rather than a 
blessino-? Our frontiers can festify, that wo 
want not those men at the helm of the nation, 
who would, for any consideration, open new 
channels for British influence among our 
northern and western Indians. T^ie horrors 
of past wars are not forgotten; and you will 
pause and count the value of many a brave 
man's life, before you raise to power one 
Avhose unfeeling poficy would crimson your 
fresh fields with the blood of your border 
brethren, and light the midnight forest with 
the flames of their dwellings. Men who 
would think of concessions so disastrous, are 
unworthy the support of Ohio: much more so, 
are those who reduce them to a serious pro- 



\ 



position. The navigation of the Mississippi 
IS too important to be bartered for the privi- 
lege of tishinj; in Briiish waters. It is givinic 
our uives and ciiiKlreii for fish.and bartering 
the blood of our citizens for money. Conceal, 
explain, and sophisticate as he will, this wa-. 
the tendency of the proposition, which \sas 
agitated at Ghent. 13ut was this surprising? 
i'ndcr till- same auspices, one of the most 
fertile and extensive provinces of the West, 
ade(juate to the Ibrnuition of two States, was 
gi\'*n to the Spaniards; the State of Louisi- 
ana, one of the most important and weakest 
jM)int9 in the Union, was m?,de a frontier, and 
exposed to sudden invasion from the adjoin- 
ing empire. Is it a matter of deepest con- 
cern with us to exterminate the Hritish influ- 
ence anions^' the northern and western Indians? 
The I'lood of slautjhtercd frieniis cries aloud 
to us from the ground, 'It is.' Tlie policy of 
JNIr. Adams intioduces the British trader to 
their wi;;wam, by opening to him, under the 
guardianship of a treaty, the navi^cation of the 
Mississippi. Shall we sanction this by sus- 
taining him? Is it a matter of the last mo- 
ment to us to protect our own navigation of 
the Ohio and Mississippi? Of what value is 
the Ohio or Mississippi to us, if Louisiana be 
occupied by an enemy? Vet, Mr. Adams is 
of the Administration, which, in the traffic of 
Territory, has made Louisiana a frontier. 
\Vith such principles, John Quiiicy Adams 
can never receive the support of Ohio. He is 
too ignorant of our interests, or lie disregards 
them. ' 

" Wayne," No. 4, contains the follow- 
ing passaije, viz.: 

" The importance of having a Western 
man in the National Councils, as well as in 
all those situations where the interests of this 
section of the Union are brought in question, 
was never so strongly exemplified, as in the 
transactions attending the treaty of CJhent. 
It was proposed to open the Mississippi, 
through its whole extent, to the navigation of 
British subjects, thus giving them the most 
direct access to those numerous and warlike 
tribes of Indians which border on our northern 
and westerp frontier. That any American 
statesman should, for a moment, have enter- 
tained so fatal a project, is as strange as the 
fact is alarming. To the presence of an able 
western man, may we attribute the defeat and 
abandonment of that atrocious proposal. 
Bui for ilic exertions of Henry Clav, the 
seeds of war migl.t now have been sowinu:, 
alongrKir northern and western borders. ivhich 
at no distant day .would have produced an aluin- 
d.inl harre'-t of tears and blood. I Ic found that 
a majority had resolved to make the fatal pro- 
position. Willi a firmness which should en- 
dear him to the people of the West, he pro- 
tested that he|wuu]d sign no Ircatj which con- 



tained a stipulation so repugnant to his coun- 
try's honor, and so dangerous to her peace. 
This firmness haii t!ie desired effect. The 
illustrious and lamented Bayard changed his 
mind, and then the \\'est was saved. The 
danger we thus escaped, should sink deep into 
our hearts, and teach us a lesson as lasiing as 
our lives." 

Thai these Numbers went throucli t!;e 
hands of Mr. Clay befi re iliey were pn'n- 
iished, is proved by his own letter to l,he 
author, which appear."! anions the deve!- 
npemenls of 1S2S, dnteil Lexington, i23d 
June, 1622. In that letter, he says : 

" /)r«r Sir: I received vonr oblisin^ 
' favor of the 20th instant, and thank voii 
' most sincerely for the friendly sentiments 
' towards me which it contains. Mr. T. 
• Crittenden has retained the production. 
' vvliich accompanied it. and which he hast 
' uii(lert;iken to divide a!id to dispose of 
' in his place of residence {^Cincinnati] 
'• according to our wishes." 

It was, therefore, Mr. Clay himself, 
more than any other man, who caised 
these heavy charges against Mr. .Adairs to 
bo brought before the pu!i!ic. He, more 
than any other man, knew whether they 
were just or not, havirfg been the "able 
western man" who, at Glie'il, was alleiis- 
ed to have saved ilie West from these dire 
calamities. Did he not believe t'le charges .'' 
I will not stop to inquire whether he did 
or did not. Others were induced to be- 
lieve them tlirough his agency, and this 
was what 3Ir, Adams called " subsidiary 
slander,'' which "had performed its part 
ot pointing all the guilt and fastening ail 
the resj'onsibiliiy upon" him. 

"\N'ayne'' was published bnmetime be- 
fore iMr.Clay's Letter appeared in t!ie Na- 
tional Intelligencer, in which he expressed 
so much regret :!t the controversy which had 
arisen between two of his colleagues about 
this alVair at Ghcni, and declared he woisid 
not "be even provoked" at that time "toen.- 
ter tlic field of disputation'' with either of 
them. But he did not. after thoje publications, 
cease privately to encourage and extend 
the attacks on Mr. Adams, growing out of 
that negotiation, and by Mr. Russell's letter 
brought before the public. In consequence 
of inforniatitM) received from .Mr. Clay as 
slated by the author of " Wavnc," he wrrte 
a series of LeMers addressed to .Mr. Adams, 
reviewing his publications in reference to 
-Mr. Russell zr.'-^ 2,lr. Clay, wliich were 



/ 



published i:i the Frankfort Ar;riis hi 18'2:J. ! lie preferred (he lives of his fellow citizens 

The spirit of these letters will be !^ll(>v 

by a few extracts 

ihe following passages, vi/, : 

"Either you iiavw, never taken the trou- 
ble to inform yourself relative to (lie ureat 
niilionaf western interests, wliicli liave been 
committed to your chars^e, or you have mis- 
represented and concealed facts, as you knew 
them to exist. It will hi' admiiled l»y all, (hat 
your acknuwledii;ed liahits of industry and re- 
search, leave little room for you to cover your 
errors 'on this point, wiih (he mantle of igno- 



rance. ' 

* * 



jtoall (he tish which minht, perchance, be 

In the 2il Ijet(er are I ^^"^'''^ "'^'''" ^'"'^'^ "'''*^* '^' '^"^ ^'^'*'*'^'^'**'^' 

I you ou;;ht to have considered, that his mind 

J\vasiiotina condition coolly to weii^h dol- 
lars ayjainst hlood ; and surely you would ra- 

,tiier have excused him as a jjenerous enthu- 
siast, than censured him for comprqmittinj 
the interests of his country." 

The 4ili Letter contains the follov.in^ 
passage, viz.: 

"By facts, hy Ihe rights of your country, 
and by your own assertions, we l\ave proved, 
that at the time of the ne^^otiation a; Ghent, 
the Biitish Government possesswl no territo- 
ry on thi Mississipjii, and that, conseq-iently. 



"It was natural for Mr. Clay to think dif- 



ferently and feel dilTerendy from wliat you. ,[,.,t .-iver was within the exclusive jurisdic- 
j)retend to think, and acIu:Uly fell, m lehition ,iy„ of i^g UnUed Slates. In supporting and 
to aduiitlm-r the British to the navi<ralion of voting; for Mr. G illafm's proposition, you 
(he MisMssippi. He could not conceal from therefore committed a violation of the very 
himself the fact, that the existence and use of i^t.^^ of your instructions; and your derlara- 
this )i-ht had been one of the causes which (ions at the time, us well as subsequently, to 
lad to the disasters of our arms on the north- {i,,, British Government, prove that you did 
western frontiers, and the exposure of all our \^ knowingly."' 

back settlements to the relentless ravag-esofi „,, .^'', t ■ i. r >} • 

a savage foe. He could not ror-.-t the" con- ! ^ '/'^ '^''. better coiuains the following 
sequent murders in Missouri, Illinois, tndi- , P^~'S'ige, viz.; 

ana, and Ohio, a catalogue of enormities at ! " It was not without astonishment, that we 
Avj)ic!i the heart si^-kens. Remembering all discovered how presumptuously, in the short 
this, he could not but wish — nay, \vith his ar- space of eight pages, you have sported with 
dent and generous nature, he could not but your own character for consistency, and with 
urge, with much earnestness — the j>olicy and 'he credulity of your countrymen. That one 
justice of excluding the instigators of crimes who writes with almost unexampled rapidity, 
so horrible, from every avenue of access to should forget in pa^e lOl wliat he had said ia 
their willing instruments. Nor could he but page 100, is hardly credible; but tliat any 
feel difffM-ently from you. In consequence of man who has the least regard for his owa 
theunlimited aecessofBritishemissaries to our reputation, should, witli his memory and his 
Indians through the Mississippi and other senses fresh about him, have the hardihood 
channels, more of Kentucky's precious blood wilfully to involve himself in the grossest con- 
was s|:)ilt, than could he jjurchased v.itli every tradictions, staggers all human belief. We 
fish that swims in British waters. Many dear rather sufi[iose that \vi:h a vivid fancy and 
friends, and one near connexion of Mr. Clay, powerful intellect, you invent as you pass 
bad fallen victims to the Indian tomahawk, along, [iremises and arguments to suit a pre- 
made on British anvils. When he departed delermined conclusion, on which you strike 
for liurope, he left a social circle, and even a : as certainly, and with a course as crooked, as 
familv, clothed in mourning for these victims the lightning falls ujion its destined object," 



of British influence over savage minds. Pass- 
ing: from the mid-^t of the mourners and the 
maimed, how could he feel as you did, wlio, 
far distant from your bleeding country, en- 
grossed with the events ofanother hemisphere, 
and admirins; 'the Titus of his a^ce,' scarce- 

ly heard the thunder of war rolling over the concealments and perversions ot known facts; 
beads of your countrymen, below the western I have shown )'ou vainly endeavijriug to shelter 



The Sth Letter coiUtiins the following, 
viz.: 

" We have pointed out many of your in- 
consistencies and contradictions, both in ar- 
gument and langua<re ; have exhibited your 



horizon. It was surely natural that he and 
you should feel differently. You ought there- 
fore, to have excused Mr. Clay's zeal, against 
once more admitting the British traders 
amonu: our Indians, and hazarding a renewal 
of the biooily scenes of the Pigeon roost, the 
River Raisin, and lort Meigs. He could not 
calculate so cool!}'' as you. If, in the excite- 
ment caused by recent An '^lolndlan murders. 



yourself from censure b}' lestiny; the meaning 
of your iiistruelions by the claims of ou.'- ene- 
my, making the boundaries and territory of 
your country, as ^vell as our right to navigate 
the Mississippi, a conditional grant, the con- 
diiion of which we have expressly refused to 
fulfil, arguing as:ainst tlie rights of independ- 
ent nations in- favor of British monopoly, and 
jeopardizing our rights to the whole fisheries. 



Lj- naking them dependant on a contested 
principle. 

'• In line, we Lave shown that your boasted 
pubhc.ttions relative to ilic Ghent mission, 
are iull of alisunlitiPb, inconsistencies, and 
contradictions; and that tJie injustice of your 
denunciation^ against your coiicaffues of the 
minority, can only be equallfd hy the elo- 
quence and boldness with «hich they are 
uttered.'- 

"By the pa>t. by the present, by the con- 
duct of our own Government, and by your 
own conduct, we have shown that the navij^a- 
tion of the Mississippi was, and would have 
continued to he, useful to British subjects, and 
fraught with innuinerablr; dangers lo the citi- 
zens of the United States. NVe hold you as 
the author, at least in mind, of all the evils 
which would have flowed from this disastrous 
concession; ami in rcnderin;;; you that justice 
uhich you demand, from the inhabitants of 
the West, we shall show you, by our voice 
and our vote, that \ve consider your course at 
Ghent, and still more your vindicdtion in lS-22, 
as full proof that your view, arc too narrow, 
your feelings too sectional, and your teniper 
too vindictive, for the Chief Majjislrate of a 
free people." 

In the 9th Letter the author undertakes 
to prove -Mr. Adams' hostility to thr; West 
by a variety of other acts. 1'hc following 
is an extract, viz.: 

"The purchase of Louisiana was the first 
great incident, which gave vent, in public acts, 
to your hostile ferlinss towards the western 
country. Elected by the. Federal party in 
Massachusetts, who opeidy avowed opjmsition 
to the extension of our nationa? limits, vou 
then held a seat in the Senate of (he L'nited 
States. It would have been unnatural, had 
you not participated in the feelings of a party 
of which you were a leader and a favorite. 
Accordingly, we find you. as a Senator, vot- 
ing against a bill enabling the i'resident to 
take possession of Louisiana ; a^rainsl extend- 
ing the laws of liie United States to the terri 
tory ; against dividing it into two (erritmies. 
for the greater convenience both of (he Gov- 
ernment and the people; against the power 
of Congress to tax ii, for piuposes of (iovern- 
rnent; and even against opening post roads to 
New Orleans, throuu'h the Imlian country, 
within our former territories!" 

These are but specimens (tf iho cU)- 
qiiencr and power with which Mr. Adams 
was denounced iti ihf.se letters. Alilnjunli 
they were certainly not Mr. Cbiy'.s produr- 
tioiiM, they probably derived a portion df 
their force front hie siipireslioii.s, and certain- 
ly his money and influence gaveiheiu cii- 



^culation. As testified befre the Senate of 
Kentucky, he offered the autlior fifty dol- 
lars to aidJiim in printing a pamphlet edi- 
tion, and afterwards paid one hut)dredfor 
that object to another printer. These facts 
were proved before the Senate of Kentucky 
in January, 1S2S: 

" William Tanner was called and sworn. 
A pamphlet was shown to him, entitled " Let- 
ters to John Quincy Adams, relative to the 
Fisheries and the Mississippi, first published 
in the Argus of Western America, revised 
and enlarged, by Amos Kendall/' and he was 
asked whether he printed it. He replied (hat 
he did. He was asked \vhethcr Mr. Clay 
paid any part of the expense. He replieii 
that he did pay <100;that he, Tanner, under- 
took to print the paniplilet liy sul}scrip(ion ; 
that Mr. Kendall told him I\lr. Clay tiud pro- 
posed to him to print it and otTered to |jay 
part of the expenses; that he had taken a 
ilptter from Mr. Kendal! to Mr. Clay; that 
Mr. Clay conversed with him as to the ex- 
pense of printing the pamphlet, and the sub- 
scription for it; that he told him to go to Mr. 
Thomas Smith, who ^vould hand him ^Ib, 
and that if he-should not be remunerated by 
(he subsoripiions, to call on him and he would 
pay him the balance cf the expense ; that he 
called on Mr. Sn/ith who paid him the money; 
that tiic sulscriplions falling short, he again 
called on Mr. Clay, who sent him to Mr. Snuth 
for $-25 more. The pamphlet was printed in 
the laller part of 1S23.' 

I'dr. Wmxi: (Mr. B. yielding the floor) 
remarked that .Mr. 'I'anner was now a 
ihoroiigli-;?oing Democrat, and an editor 
of out; of the most fiil!-h!oodcd Demo- 
cratic papers in that Slate. 

Mr. Boyd said that was true, biu he 
had never known ol his testimony havinjj 
been contiadicted then or since. 

Mr. Clay's direct agency in giving t!ie 
pamplilet circulation was proved in 18*^S, 
by the publication of a Letter from him to 
the author, of which the following i? an 
extract, viz.: 

" Dkar Siii: Several inqniiies have been 
made about your pamphlet on the Fisheries 
by uiomtiers of Congress, and I have promis- 
ed to rc(|i:est a copy to be sent to .Mr. David 
Sloane, of the Ohio Senate, at Cohuubns; 
another to the Hon. Henry II. Storrs, ami 
anoiher to the Hon. John Sloane, here. Will 
you i;o good enou;ih to have tin m forwarded.'" 

'i'hcse fads show the hostility exislinjf 
l)e(ween Mr. Adams and Mr. Clny. They 
show that IVFr. Clay was himself active iu 
dc.-iroying Mr. Adams' character and poj)- 
ularity in the West, not only as a polili- 



cian, but as a truthful, honest, and patri- 
otic rnan ; and that Mr. Adams knew it. 
They show that, well understanding each 
other, Mr. Clay was under a promise to 
expose 3Ir. Adams' conduct at Ghent, and 
that Mr. Adams held iiim at defiance. This 
Avas their j)ersonal attitude towards each 
o^her when tlie popular vole was given for 
President in IS'24. 

THE CABINET SUCCESSION. 

But there was a general principle on 
which Mr. Clay and his friends were op- 
posed to Mr. Adams, totally imcompatihie 
Mith giving him their support in that elec- 
tion. It grew out of the position Mr. 
Adams held as a member of i\lr. Monroe's 
Cabinet. So quietly had the Secretary of 
State succeeded to the Presidency in the 
cases of Mr. Madison and JMr. Monroe, 
ihat many Republicans began to be alarm- 
ed at the idea that this migrht become the 
regular order of succession, and that each 
President would virtually appoint his suc- 
cessor, the whole power and patronage of 
the Administraiion being steadily devoted 
to the object of making the head of the 
Cabinet the next President. 

We have seen that, as early as July, 
1818, the Reporter, Mr. Clay's organ at 
Lexington, said, " Mr. Adams is designat- 
ed by the President and his presses as the 
lieir apparent — the next successor to the 
Presidency. Since the principle was in- 
troduced there has been a rapid degenera- 
cy in the Chief Magistrate ; and the pros- 
pect oi still greater degeneracy is strong' 
and alarming," &.c. 

The Presidential campaign of 1S24 may 
be said to have been opened by Mr. Clay's 
friends in 1S21 or 1822. In the first part 
'of the latter year, a series of essays ascrib- 
ed, I know not how justly, to ^Ir. Clay's 
own pen, appeared in the Frankfort Ar- 
gus, advocating his pretensions. In his 
introductory number the writer held the 
following language, viz.: 

"The National Intelligencer is not, pre- 
cisely, the most fitting- paper 4o issue this 
edict commanding silence. It might, indeed, 
suit the taste of their official patrons and em- 
ployers, that as little as possible should be 
published on this subject. They may prefer, 
that the prescribed line of legitimacy, accor- 
ding to which tiie heir apparent should be 
translated from the Department of State to 
the Palace, be preserved unbroken and entire. 
But they ought to remember the practice of 



secure tliat tranquillity, which the Editor* 
ol the Intelliirencer so much desire, pro- 
vided beforehand for the imperial succes- 
sion, has not yet been engrafted on our Con- 
stitution." 

In July, 1824, the friends of Mr. CI v 
in Ohio, published an Address signed by 
the Hon. Joseph \'ance, as chairman, in 
which they set forth the grounds on whicli 
they sup|)orted, and intended to adhere la 
him. Tiieir " iirst object" in bringing hiia 
i"orward, as stated by themselves, was as 
follows: viz. 

"The considerations here briefly hinted, 
determined many of the most reflecting citi- 
zens of the country to adopt the opinion, tiiat 
no member of the present executive ca!-inet 
ou^ht to be selected to succeed Mr. Monroe; 
and this determination was formed without 
any disrespect to the talents or character of 
the incumbents themselves. It rested upon 
public principle and upon public duty, and 
upon these alone. In looking around lor 
some person out of the cabinet, and uncon- 
nected with the executive administration of 
the national government, a large portion of 
the citizens of the West, naturallj- directed 
their attention to Henry Clay of Kentucky." 

^ *- ;« • ~ 9- *- » * 

" Were Mr. Clay withdrawn, the result, as 
to the election by the electors, would most 
probably be the same ; or if it were not, it 
Xi'ould place in the Presidential chair one of lite 
present cahinet; an event which it was tlie first 
ohject of the friends of Mr . Clay to prevent; 
not in reference to the men, but the principle. 
Mr. Clay was nominated in the persuasion 
that all his fellow-citizens, entertaining the 
same general views, would unite in his support. 
Had this been the case; had tnis union taken 
place, his election by the electors, would have 
been certain. It is the clear conviction of his 
supporters, that the ohject of nominating; hint, 
can only be attained by adhering to him, that 
to abandon him, is to abandon that object; and 
under this conviction, they have adopted the 
resolution to adhere to him, as the dictate of 
duty and of patriotism." 

It may be affirmed without hesitation, 
that among Mr. Clay's friends generally, 
a principal object in supporting him, if 
not, as in Ohio, the very '-first," was to 
put an end to the Cabinet succession. To 
that principle Mr. Clay was pledged, as 
far as any candidate could be, in his im- 
plied, if not express, assent to the politic 
cal creed laid down by his friends as the 
basis on which he was supported. 

PREPARES "to control THE EVENT." 



Rome, by which the Caesars themselves, toi From Gen. Jackson's popularity in the 



10 



"Western country, it became evident early 
in the year 18-2 j': that he wouhl carr yofl" a 
large portion of the voles on which -Mr. 
Ch\y hail rclietl with great confidence, 
Tendering it doubtful whether he would 
reach the House of Representatives as one 
of liie three higliest candidates. In one 
of his Letters to the Editor of the Western 
Argus, publisiied in IS'JS, Mr. Clay, under 
iJaie of February 10, 18"-i3, said: 

" Judoiiig from present appearances, 
the contest will be between 3Ir. Adams 
and me." 

In another Letter, dated March IS, 
1824, he ueed tlie following language, 
\iz.: 

•'New York continue* to he a conteited 
State. IMy decided opinion is that it will 
give its support to Mr. Adams or to me, or 
perhaps divide it between us; in that case Mr. 
Crawford cannot come into the House. My 
Iriends are confident in the belief, that if I en- 
ter the House as one of the three highest, no 
matter with whut associates, I shall be elected. 
If, contrary to all probability, Mr. Crawford 
should obtain the vote of New York, the con- 
test for an entry into the House, will probably 
lie between Jackson and me. In Maryland, 
Delaware, and New Jersey, I have reasons to 
count upon some support. Without enterintr 
into further particulars, my opinion is, that 
my friends have every motive for vigorous, 
animated, and persevering exeruon." 

This shows that, instead of a contest 
between Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, for an 
election by the electors, it had now be- 
come, in the estimation of Mr. Clay, a 
struggle between him and Mr. Crawford 
or gImi. Jackson, for entry into the House. 

In May, 18"24, two monUis after the date 
of Mr. Clay's Letter to the Editor of the 
Argus, his friends at Washington city 
issued an Address, from which the follow- 
ing is an extract, viz : 

"If, contrary to all probability, Mr. Clay 
should not be returned lo the House, his 
friends, havinj: done their duty, will be able, 
ly crinceulration, to co7ttr<il the event. They 
tvill hold in their hands the balance. They 
-will determine between the opposing: and con- 
■jViciing interests and secure to the country a 
JtcjiuLHctin Administration." 

" l.'nder all the views taken, it is determin- 
ed to recommend to his friends to adhere to 
him steailily and to await the issue now de- 
pending before the people.' 

Tiic aiilhorship of this Address was as- 
cribed to Mr. Clnj- himself. That it spoke 



his sentiments cannot be doubted, when it 
is recollected that he was then in Wash- 
ington, where it was issued, presiding 
over the House of Representatives as 
Speaker. A design, " bi/ concentration to 
control the event,'" in tli? contingency of 
his not being returned to the House of Re- 
presentatives, is here avowed as the po- 
licy of Mr. Clay's friends. 

On the loth of July following, the 
friends of Mr. Clay ii^ Ohio issued an -Ad- 
dress to prevent defection from his sup- 
port, in consequence of the growing 
strength of Gen. Jackson, extracts from 
which I have already submitted. 

Ill September, the Clay Committee in 
Kentucky issued an Address, e.\i)ressing 
the opinion that there could he no election 
by the electors ; that the electioM must 
devolve on the House of Representatives; 
and that no single candidate could in that 
body outnumber the vote of Mr. Clay. 
They then make the following declara- 
tion, viz.: 

" In fine, Mr. Clay considers himself whol 
ly in the hands of the people; and we as his 
friends and supporters, believing; him worthy 
of our continued e.xerlions, and that bis pros- 
pects of success are still unclouded and bright- 
ening, avow our determination, and we be- 
lieve we speak the language of all his friends, 
to abide by our preference to the last. If he 
should be returned to the House of Represen- 
tatives, we have little doubt of his final elec- 
tion, with the approbation and applause of the 
majority of the nation; but if any untoward 
circumstance should prevent his being one ot 
the three highest', his friends in Congress, by 
throwing their weight into the scale of the 
most RepvbHcan and A'ational candidate, will 
have it in their power to defeat the ends of 
political management, and see that the Repub- 
lic sustains no injury." 

The course indicated in the Washing- 
ton, Ohio, and Kentucky Addresses of 
1821, was followed up by Mr. Clay in 
person. In October he met several of the 
Kentucky members of Congress in Frank- 
fort. One of them, the Hon. T. P. Moore, 
made th£ following statement in a Letter 
to Gej^*ohn P. Van Ness, dated March 
4, 18^, viz.; 

"In that month. Mr. Clay, Mr. Trimble, 
Mr. C. A. Wicklilfe, myself, and perhaps oth- 
er members of the Kentucky delegation, casu- 
ally metal Frankfort during the session of the 
Court of Ajipeals. Tln-re Mr. CI.\v, for the 
first time, expressed to inc an apprehension 
that he should be excluded from the House 



11 



of Representatives ; ami oliserved, wiili seem- 
ing carelessness of manner, that it would be 
best for hs in that case, to remain uncom- 
mitted as to our second choice." 

Another of them, tiie Hon. C. A. Wick- 
liffe, now Postmaster General, in a Letter 
to Gen. Van Nc?s, dated March 14, 1S28, 
made the following statement, viz.: 

" We entered pretty much at large upon 
the subject. My inquiries were more particu- 
larly directed to his prospects of setting a 
portion of the votes of the State of New York, 
having: formed the opinion that unless Mr. 
Clay could receive a portion of the votes of 
that State, he would not be returned as one 
of the three highest cainiidates. Mr. Clay 
replied, that his friends in that State had it in 
contemplation, if it were practicable, to unite 
with the friends of Mr. Crawford, and divide 
the votes between himself and Mr. Crawford. 
Of the success of this project he spoke doubt- 
JuUy, and remarked that he did not place 
much reliance upon the result. In the event 
it should fail, it is more than probable, said he, 
1 mny be excluded froin the House of Repre- 
sentatives. To meet such a contingency my 
friends must be prepared, and I think i* best 
that they should not hastily commit them- 
selves in their second choice." 

The Legislature of Kentucky met on 
the 1st November, 18:M, bearing with 
them the almost unanimous feeling of the 
People in favor of Gen. Jackson as their 
second choice, in the event that Mr. Clay 
could not be elected. It was apprehend- 
ed that the liegislature might interfere, if 
Mr. Clay should be excluded from the 
House, and instruct their delegation in 
Congress to vote for Gen. Jackson. That 
result Mr. Clay himself personally inter- 
posed to prevent. Li February, 18"2S, the 
following declaration was made in the 
Senate of Kentucky, by a gentleman who 
has ever stood high in public estimation, 
viz.: 

'•Thomas D. Carneal, a Senator, at the 
request of Mr. Pope, stated, that he had a con- 
versation with Mr. Clay at his room, a few 
days before he started for Washington Ciry, 
in 'the fall of 1S24. Mr. Clay said he did not 
like to be instructed by the Legislature as to 
his vote, should he not be returned to the 
House as one of the three highest, which he 
thought doubtful, but wished to be left entire- 
ly free. Mr. Carneal told him he had intended 
to introduce resolutions of instruction into the 
Senate himself, requesting the Kentucky dele- 
gation to vote for General Jackson, but prom- 
ised on account of the objection of Mr. Clay, 
not to do it although he said he must vote for 



them should they be irrtroduced hy others. 
Mr. Clay said, in case he wereexcludet^fiotn 
the House, he was wholly uncommitted as to 
his vote, and wished to be left free." 

Mr. Clay himself published a Letter io 
him from Col. James Davidson, another 
member of the Senate in 1S21, in whicli 
Davidson said, that in consequence of in- 
formation from Mr. Clay himself, he told 
the Senate, while subse(]ueiilly discus.^inj 
the resolutions of instruction, that " «// ihe 
rcsolulions ice (Ovld jmss durlufi the uhole 
session, ivould not induce t/ou [INIr. Clay] 
In abandon what you conceived to be your 
duty, and that I knew you could not concur 
with a majority oj the Legislature on that 
subject.'"' This information Col. Davidson 
stated he had communicated to otl)ers, 
among whom were some members of the 
Legislature, who afterwards opposod the 
resolutions. 

Such were Mr. Clay's arrangements " ta 
control the event," when the result of the 
election in 1824 was announced. Of the 
electors then chosen, there were — 
For Gen. Jackson, ^9 

" Mr. Adams, &4 

" Mr. Crawford, , 41 
"Mr. Clay, • 37 

As the Constitution confines the choice 
of President, by the House of Representa- 
tives, to the three highest candidates, Mr. 
Clay was excluded from the competition. 

Of the popular votes given in the eight 
Western States — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, 
Missouri. Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, 
and Mississippi — Gen. Jackson received 
68,067, Mr. Clay 43,867, Mr. Adams 21,- 
555, and Mr. Crawford 2,330 ; by which 
it appears that Gen. Jackson received ia 
those States 46,512 votes more than Mr. 
Adams, 24,201 more than Mr. Clay, and 
3!5'more than Adams, Clay, and Craw- 
ford, all combined. 

In the ^whole Union the popular votes 
were : 

For Gen. Jackson, 1-32,9.51 

" Mr. Adams, 10-5,322 

" Mr. Crawford,. 47,305 
" Mr Clay, 46,608 

It hence appears, that Gen. Jackson had 
a majority of 901 over Messrs. Adams and 
Clay combined. 

Mr. Whitk inquired of the gentlemaa 
what authority he was reading from .- 
i Mr. Boyd said, 1 am reading from the 
1 United Slates Telegraph of 1828, and 



12 



cjuotinfj from the Address of the Jackson 
Coinmiiiee, and olher documents therein 
recorded. No man shall gro])e in the dark 
after me. 

How was the popnlar vole in Ken- 
Incky at the electoral election of 18-^4? 
For Mr. Clay l7,3.'3l ; for Gen. Jackson 
C,Io5. How munv votes did Mr. Adams 
receive in that S'.aie? i\'ot one. I tl.oughi 
the olher day. thai Mr. Adams might have 
received a few hundred v«ies in the State; 
but on recurrence to the National Inlelli- 
^'encer, as well as the Telegraph, giving 
ihe returns, I do not find one put down in 
his favor. 

" To control the event"' was now all 
Mr. Clay could do, and that policy he 
seems to have steadily pursued. Tlie ef- 
fort to prevent the Kentucky members 
from committing ihems^clves as to their 
second choice, commenced by Mr. Clay at 
Frankfort in October, was continued in 
AVat-liingion alter his arrival here. .Major 
IVIoore, in his Letter already quoted from, 
makes the following statemeni, viz.: 

"After my arrival in the city, I was con- 
fined to my room by indisposition. While in 
this situation. Mr. Clay c:\iled, and alter the 
usual civilities, told me, in emphatic terms, 
<hat he had little doubt he was excluded I'roni 
the House of Representatives, and that all 
*'we" (meanniir the Kentucky delegation in 
Congress) " had now to do, was to hold our- 
selves uncommitted, as to our second choice," 
declaring, "that wc could vote for either of 
the three candidates, and justify ourselves to 
our constituents.'" 

Major ]\Ioore says that the Hon. R. P. 
Henry, in lS-21 one of the Kentucky 
members, but deceased prior to 18',JS, "de- 
tailed a similar conver.<ation, wliicli had 
taken i>lace between himself and Mr. Clay." 

KLXTUCKY INSTRUCTIONS. 

In the month of December considerable 
Ecnsation was produced in Kentucky bv 
rumors from V/adiington, that tlie vote of 
the State might be given to Mr. Adams, 
vit!) some view to !\Ir. Clay's aijgrandize- 
inent. In this state of things, Mr. Henry 
Crittenden otTerod.in the Kentucky llou.se 
of Representatives two resolutions, re- 
qncsting our mendjers of Congress to vof/ 
for Gen. Jack-on, and declaring him to be 
the second choice of that Slate. A brief 
skefeh of the rlebatp on these resolutions, 
on the ^jl.sl day of December. I'^^il, whicl 



under what impressions the subject was- 
discussed. 

Mr. (reorge Robertson (whom Col. Dav- 
idson had told, on the authority of Mr. 
Clay himself, that he would not regard 
any such instructions) moved to lay tliem 
on the table. Among the reasons given 
l)y him were, " that it would be indelicate 
to Mr. Clay ; that it woild lessen tlie 
weight of Kentucky in the next Adminis- 
tration ; that it was better to leave our mem- 
bers of Congress to act according to con- 
tingencies ; that the weight and import- 
ance of the Slate, and the Western coun- 
try, could, in that manner, be best secured." 
"That the resolutions would not onlv de- 
irrade our respected fellow-citizen, [evi- 
dently meaning Mr. Clay.] bvil throv.' Ken- 
tucky upon the electioneering arena iti 
(Congress completely handculted," iScc. 

"Mr. Shephpnl bad always been in favor of Gen, 
Jackson. Some of ll)e fii^nds of Mr. Clay, he 
had no <ioubt, wished to dpfcat the resolution, and 
leave that fjentlcniiiu to make tlie best bargain he- 
could. But he did not v\i=li th',- vo'e of Kentucky 
to be bartered away; or that Mr. Clav should be 
Secretary of State, to the exclusion of Jackson as 
President." 

" Mr. Ii Hitrdin said he hnew that many of our 
members ol Congress were inclined to vote for 
Mr. Adams, and he believed he would ^et the 
vote of Kentucky, unless this House acted. He 
recapitulated the strength of Ai'.ams and Jackson, 
;uid believed the resuit of the Presidentidl elec:ion 
depended on the vote of KentncUy, and probably 
on the vote of this House on this day." 

The resolutions were adopted by an 
overwhelming majority in llie following 
form, viz.: 

"Whereas it app-'ars from the result of the 
elections in the several S'att\-=, and the foruatioii 
of the electoral colleges f ^r choosing a President 
of the United Slates, that no person will receive 
a majority of the eltcloral votes, and that Henry 
Clay, who was the first choice of Hie people of 
Kentucky, his not receivtnl a aulfiirient number 
of Votes to bring him before the House of Repre- 
sentatives as one cf the three highest from whom 
the choice of the Pre'ident of the United Slates is 
to be made — therff)re, 

"Resolved, £fC. That the members of the House 
of Representatives in the Congress of tlie United 
States, f om this State, be requesteil to vote for 
General Andrew Jackson as President of the Unit- 
ed States. 

"Jicsolved, OS the opinion of lliis Lrs;is!ii(iire, 
That Geneial Andiew Jarksun is the second 
chuice of the Slate of Kentucky for t!ie next Prc- 
."^ident of the Uidted Stale^; that a very large ma- 
jority of the people of this St.ite profer General 
.Fackson to Mr. A<lams or .Mr. Ciawford ; and that 
Ihe members of the House of Keprot-ntativcs in 
ttie Congrf-ss of the I'nitcd Stale? will, by com- 



wasfubiislied at the time, dearly shows plying with the request hereiu Mgnilicd,' faithfully 



13^ 



and truly represent the feelings an J wishes of the 
good people of Kentucky." 

MR. CLAY AND GEN. JACKSON. 

While Mr. Clay and 3Ir. Adams stood 
before the puhlic at open deliance with 
each other, we have evidence that the for- 
mer was on friendly it not iniiniale terms 
^vitli Gen. Jackson. The following state- 
ments were made on oath before the Sen- 
ale of Kentucky, viz.: 

"Olicer A'i^ene stated, that in the fall of 1S24, 
ei(;ht or ten days before Mr. Clay started for 
"VVashins^ton city, ho asked Mr. Clay, in conver- 
sation, whetlier he had written to Gen. .Jackson 
to come to his hoiis j ai d go on to Wasliinglon 
with film? Mr. Clay said he had. 

^'Francis Mcllcar sl&tQd. that on the morning 
Mr. Clay stiir'ed for Washing-ton, in the fall of 
1S24, in lliC presence of several genllenien he 
heard Mr. Clay say he had wii:ten to Gen. Jack- 
son to co:ne throiiy;li Lex'ni'ton and go on to 
Washington with him, but had received no an- 
swer, ai;d had given him out." 

Gen. R. K. Cull., in a Letter (o General 
Van Ness, dated Feb. 4, 18'2S. cfive? an 
acconntofthe first meeting ot Mr. Clay 
and Gen. Jackson after the electoral elec- 
tion in 1821, in the foUowinff words, viz.: 

"As Gen. Jackson, Major Eaton, and myself, 
were returning from the Capitol, after passing 
llirough the Rolundo we wpre overtaken by Mr. 
Clay, who approached Gen. Jackson with his 
usual pleasing address, and with the following fa- 
miliar and fiiendly language : ' Gen. Jackfon, I 
have a quarrel with you: why did you not let 
me know you were coming by Lexington r I cer- 
tainly should have waited for your airival.' And 
to the best of iny recollection h.c added, ' We 
should have travelled together.' " 

In addition to this testimony, we have 
the admission of Mr. Clay" himself, that 
friendly relations had been re-established 
between him and Gen. Jackson prior to 
the election of 1S24. In one of his ad- 
dresses to the public, in vindication of his 
vote for Mr. Adams, he speaks as follows, 
viz.: 

" Such was the state of our rel.itions at the 
commencement of the session of Congress in 1823, 
the interval having passed without my seeing him. 
Soon after his arrival here to at'end that session. 
I collected from certain indications that he had 
resolved upon a general amnesty, the benefit of 
which was to be e.xtended (o me. He became 
suddenly reconciled with some individuals be- 
tween whom atid himself there had been a long 
existing enmity. The greater part of the IVri- 
ncs=ee delegation, (all, I believe, except 31r. 
Eaton and Gen. Cocke,) called on ine together 
early in the session, for the express purpose, as I 
understood, ol producing a reconciliation between 
lis." - * * ' * * .. I stated 

that the opinions I had expressed in the House 
of Representatives in regard to Genera! Jackson's 



military transactions, had been sincerely enter- 
tained, and were still held ; but that, being opin- 
io.is in respect to public acts, they never had 
been supposed by me to form any just occasion 
for private enmity between us. and that none had 
been cherished on my part. Conse(pient|y. there 
was no obstacle on my -ide to a meeting with him, 
and maintaining a respectful intercouise." 

I Mr. Clny further says, he afterwards 
dined with General Jackson, and the Gen- 
eral uilh him, and continued to exohange 
expressions of civility and respect. 

TIIK tvr.NT. 

There were seemingly many reasons, as 
well of a private as of a public nature, why 
Mv. Clay should not vote for j\lr. Adams, 
and should voie for Gen. Jackson. 

^Ir. Clay had been instnimenial in in- 
driciuff the people of the West to believe 
tliai Mr. Adams was an unsound states- 
man, peculiarly hostile to their interests, 
and an unscrupulous man. 

Mr. Adams had denounced :\Ir. Clay as 
ensfsged in a long-continued intrigue to 
destroy him, pursuing his object by cov- 
ert and dishonorable means. 

Mr. Clay stood publicly pledj^ed to ex- 
pose 3Ir. Adams' errors, both of fact and 
opinion, and Mr. Adams had hurled at him 
an indignant defiance. 

Mr. ('lay's personal relations \Vit!i Gen. 
Jackson were those of friendly intercourse. 

Of Gen. Jackson's devotion to the in- 
terests of the West there could be no sha- 
dow of doubt. 

He had received more electoral votes 
than any other candidate. 

He had received a large plurality of the 
popular votes. 

He was the only candidate, except Mr- 
Clay, who had received any votes in Ken- 
tucky. 

He was, without question, the second 
choice of a vast majority of the American 
People. 

Mr. Adams was, and Gen. Jackson was 
not, a member of the Cabinet. 

Mr. Clay and his colleagues were re- 
quested by an overwhelming majority of 
the Kentucky Legislature to vote for Gen. 
Jackson as the undoubted second choice 
of the people of that State. 

Nevertheless, Mr. Clay voted for Mr. 
Adams, and gave him the vole of Ken- 
tucky. 

He carried with him the votes of Oliio, 
where Mr. Adams received bnl 12,280 po- 
pular voles out of 50,000, of Illinois, 



14 



where he received but 1,54-2 out of 4,700, 
and of Missouri, where he received but 
311 votes oij» of -iJOO. 

Under ihe^e circumsiances, it was but 
natural that the people of the entire West, 
and particularly of Kentucky, should have 
been shocked and astouiided on learning 
that tlie vote of thai Slate had been cast 
for Mr. Adam?, and especially, as it was 
followed by tliat oiher remarkable circum- 
stance of the ofler bv Mr. Adnms and the 



hi« team and horses. No alarm was excited; we 
believed the Republic was safe. The nation hav- 
iiiST delivered Jackson into the hands of Congress, 
backed by a larsie majority of their votes, there 
wa?, on my inind, no doubt that Conjiress would 
leepond to the will of the nation, by electing the 
imlividual they had declared to be their choice. 
Cun'rary to this expectation, it is now ascertained 
to (I certainti/, that Henry Clay has trun^fcrrtd his 
i.ittrebt to Juhn Qiiincy ^iduiiin. As a considera- 
tion of this abandoumfnt of duty to his constitu- 
ents, it is said anJ believed, should this unhappy 
coalition prevail. Cluij is to be opiiointeil Secretary 
«f Sliite. I have no fears on my mind ; I am clear- 



acceplance by l\Ir. Clay cf the otlice ofi ly of opinion we shall defeat every combination 
Secretary of Slate. They felt morlified the force of public opinion must prevail, or there 

and iiidiirnant at the manner in which their 



feelings and their will had been trampled 
under font and their dearest interests be- 
trayed into ilie hands of him whom they I 
had been tau'^ht to recrard as their worst I 
enemy; and they awaited the return of their 
Representatives to call them to a strict 
account. 

THE MOTlVn. 

A few days prior to the election, rumors 
of an attempt of the friends of Mr. Adams 
to buy the Presidency, bv otVerinir the 
office of Secretary of State to Mr. Clay, 
were rife at Washington. These rumors 
were brought before the public by a Let- 
ter from Washington to the Editor of the 
Columbian Observer, a newspaper then 
printed in Philadeli)hia. That Letter was 
as follows, viz.: 

" Washington-. Jan. 2.5, IS2'). 
"Dear Sir: I take up my pen to inform you of 
one of ihe most disarraceful traiisactions that ever 



'is an end to Liberty." 

To this Letter Mr. Clay responded as 
follows : 

«'A CARD. 

"I have seen, without any other emotion than 
that of ineti'able contempt, the abuse which has 
been poured out upon me by a scurrilous paper 
printed in this city, and by other kindred prints 
aiiii persons, in rejjard to the Presidential elec- 
tion. The Editor of one of those print'!, usliereJ 
forth in Phi!aiiel|ihia, called the Columbian (>b. 
server, for which I do not sut)scribe, and wliicli I 
liave not ordered. ha> had the impudence to trans- 
mit to me his vile paper of the 2sth inst. In that 
number is inserted a letter, purporting; to have 
been written in this city, on tiie 2.5th instant, by 
a ir ember of the House of Representatives be- 
lonEjing to The Pennsylvania delej^iion. 1 believe 
it to be a forgery: but if it be genuine. I pro- 
nounce the meinl)er, whoever he may be, a base 
and infamous calumniator— rt (/as/rt*</ ((;!(/ ii liar; 
and if he dare unveil himself, and avow his name, 

I WILL HOLD HIM RKSPONSI BLF., Uf I here admit 

myself to be. TO ALI- THK LAWS WHICH 
GOVERN AND REGULATE WEN OF 
HONOR. "H.CLAY. J 

"31it January, 182.5." 

•Three days thereafter IMr. Kremermade 



covered with infamy the Republican ranks. Would , 
you believe that men pr'kssing Democracy could I public the foUowiuil reply : 
be found baee enoush to lay the axe at the root of | ,. ANOTHER C \RI) 

the tree of Liberty? let, strange as it is it is j u George Kremer, of the H^use of Representa- 
lo g.veyouatu.l h'story of thi. , ,;.,^^ ,^^-^^^ ._;^ ^^;^^^,^ ,^ the Honorable ' H. 



not less true. 

transaction would far exceed the limits of a letter 



T ,L ,1 .. r . , . . ., Clav, and informs him, ihat, by relerence to the 

1 shall, therefor^, at once proceed to give vou a i -p, ,.• ,•., ,, , , . /,i i, 

- - - -' -' ^ -. . I Editor ol the Columbian Observer, he may ascer- 



brief account of such a bargain as can only be 
equalled by the famous Jiurr conspiracy of ISDL 
For .'•ome lime past the fiieiids of Clay have hint- 
ed thai they, like the Swiss, would t\^ht for those 
who would p.iy best. Overtures i- ere faid to 
have bf-en mode by the friends of Jldutns to Ihe 



tain the name of the writer of a letter of the 2jtii 
ultimo, \\hich. it seems, has atlbnled so much con- 
ceru to ' H. Clay.' In the mean time, George K're- 
mer holds himself ready to prore, to the satisfaction 
if iinprtjudiced minds, enough to satisfy them of Ihe 

f^. I r ni ir ■ - I ■ ., - ■ , i r accurnci/ of Ihe statement u-hich are contained in. 

fnends of Clay offering hunt he 'W"""'""-''] ': • ./,„, /,„•,,; ,o ,he extent that they concern th.. 

Secretary c^ Slate Jor his aid to elect .Idams. And | ^^^,.^^ ^,,j ,,^,^j^^, ^,. . „ ^,,^,^. . ^g^,,,^, ^ ,j^|,. 



tha fiicnds of ('lay gave this inlbrm ition to the 
friends of Jackson, and hinted, Ihat if the fiiends 
of Jackson would otfer the same ])rite they would 
close with them. But none ot the friends of 
Jackson would descwid to such burter and sale- 
It was not beli''ved by any of thf friends of Jack- j 
son that this contr<irt would be ratil'ied by the ' 



ic-entative of the People, he will not fear to 'cry 
aloud and siiaie not,' when their rights and privi- 
leges are at slake. 

"GEORGE KREMEK, 
"Februarys, 1825." 

Mr. Clav then shifted his ground, .and 



memberTt from the Siatei who had voted for Mr. | deiiianded an investigation bv the llou.sc 
Clay. I wasofopiiion. when I tirstheardofthis „,• Hei)re.-=enlaiives, of which he was 
transaction, that men prolesnug anv honorable „ i ' » .i ri . w 

principle could not, and would not, be' transferred. , Spe.nker. As the House ilselt was com- 
hke the planter does hin negroes, or the farmer . posed in a great measure ol the in.<tru- 



15 



ments by which this bargain, if any exist- 
ed, was to be consummated, ]\Ir. Krcmer 
did not consider it the proper tribunal to 
make such an investigation, and refused 
to meet Mr. Clay's issue before that body. 
Besides, Mr. Adams was not yet elected, 
nor was Mr. Clay Secretary of Slate ; and 
liowever well satisfied men might b:; that 
such an arrangement had been agreed 
upon, or become tacitly understood, it was 
not easy to prove men's i mentions, when 
no overt act had been committed. 

What was then rumor became fact, how- 
ever, upon the organization of the Admin- 
istration. Many thought they saw in that 
arrangement both the cause and the effect 
of Mr. Adams' election, and the conhrm- 
ation of Mr. Kremer's charge. 

When the Kentucky members returned 
home, their constituents demanded to know 
ivhy they had voted for Mr. Adams against 
Gen. Jackson, in violation of the public 
■will ? I will now show what was iheir 
answer. 

HON. FRANCIS JOHiNSON's EXCUSE. 

The following testimony was given un- 
der oath before the Senate of Kentucky, 
viz.: 

'' James McMillan, of the H^use of Represen- 
tatives, stated in reply to interrogatories, that iMr. 
Francis Johnson was at Tompkuisville, in Mon- 
roe county, after iiis return home subsequent to 
the Presiilential election, where he was asked 
how he came to vote for Mr. Adams ? Mr. John- 
son answered, that he voted for Mr. Adams to get 
Mr. Clay made Secretiry of state. He made this 
declaration repeatedly in conversation, and wit- 
ness believed in a public speech. He said that 
JMr. Adams for President, and Mr. Clay his Sec- 
retary, would conduce m.ore to the interests of 
the West than General Jackson President, with 
■%ve know not whom for his Secretary, and that 
Mr. Clay might, perhaps, succeed him." 

The following confirmation of 3Ir. Mc- 
Millan's testimony was furnished soon af- 
terwards, viz.: 

"We, whose names are undersigned, do hereby 
certify that, some time subsequent to the last 
Presidential election, we heard Francis Johnson, 
Esq. in the town of Tompkinville, Monroe coun- 
ty, give as a reason for voting for John Quincy 
Adams, that if Mr. Mams icas ekcled Presi- 
dent Mr. Clay tvoiild be Secretary of State; but 
that if Gen. Jackson was elected President Mr. 
Clay would not be Secretanj; and that he believed, 
Mr. Adams for President, with Mr. Clay for Sec- 
retary, would conduce more to the interest of the 
West than General Jackson for President, with 
we know not whom for Secretary. We do not 
pretend to give Mr. Johnson's precise words; but 
2 



we say positively, that tlie above is tnie in sub- 
stance, and we know we are not mistaken. 

WILLIAM HOWARD, 
ISAAC JACKSON, 
JOSHUA RUSH, 
BENJAMIN' RUSH, 
HOWARD MKRCKR, 
I.KWIS FRAXKLIN." 

HON. DAVID TRIMBI-K'S E.VCUSE. 

Before the Senate' of Kentucky, Mr. Se- 
crest, a member of the House of Repre- 
sentatives, made the following statement 
in his testimony, viz.: 

"After his return from Co.igress in 182-5, h 
heard Mr. Trimble eive as an apology for vo'ig^ 
for Adams, that if Mr. Adams iiad not been tlect- 
ed Mr. Clay would not have been Secretary of 
State; and that if Gen. Jackson had be^n elected 
Mr. Adams would have been Secretary." 

John Ma-ion, jr., on the same occasion, 
testified as follows, viz.: 

" When witness heard that Trimble had voted 
for Adams he was surprised ; and soon after his 
return he had a conversation with iiim about his 
vote, ill whirh he gave as his reasons, that we as- 
certained if Mr. Adams was maile President Mr. 
Clay would be made Secr::tary of State ; and that 
if Gen. Jackson was made President, Mr. Clay 
would not he made Secretary ; and that it would 
be better for us to have Adams, with Mr. Clay 
Secretary, than Gen. Jackso.n, without him." 

Micojah Harrison, in a Letter to the 

Editor of the Argus, dated 7th Feb. 1S28, 

states as follows, viz.: ^ 

'•Without entering into all the minutije of con- 
versation which took place, I will state that the 
Hon. David Trimble observed to me, ' that ive 
(meaning, I supposed, the Kentucky Delegation) 
t.ad distinctly ascertained that if Mr. Adams were 
elected President Mr. Clay would be appointed 
his Secretary of Stale ; and that if Gen. Jackson 
were elected President, Mr. Clay would not.' " 

Jesse Summers, in a Letter to Gen. Al- 
len, of the Kentucky Senate, dated Feb. 
5, 1828, says: 

" I have heard Mr. David Trimble say, it was 
ascertained that if John Q. Adams was elected 
President he would appoint Henry Clay Secretary 
of State; and he also stated, in all probability if 
General Jackson was elected, he would not. At 
the same time Mr. Trimble st-ited, that the Repre- 
sentatives iVcm this State, or a majority oJ thera, 
thought that it would be better for us to have 
John Q. Adams President and Henry Clay Secre- 
t.iry of State, than to have General Jackson Pre- 
sident and some other person Secretary." 

The following statement of twelve citi- 
zens of Lewis county, Kentucky, was 
subscribed and sworn to on the ^d day of 
November, 1827, viz.: 

'• We, the subscribers, certify on oath, that we 
were severally present at the Lewis county court, 
for October, 182.5, and heard David Trimble make 
a speech, and he used the following language : 



16 



♦When Kwentoa last ftll to the city of Wash- 
jngfon. wt loudil Mr. Crawford out of tlie qurs- 
Uori : the coiitest was betrtCfii Gfiierat Jackson 
and John Quincy Adams. Wc asjertairi'd that 
under no circuinstances would Gem-ral Jackson 
appoint our friend, Henry Clay, Secretary olbtate; 
we asceitaiiied that Mr. Adams would a[ipoint 
our fiiend, Henry Clay, Secretary of State. 
K.owii o; this, then, fi;llow-cilizens, that General 
Jackson v\o:ild not, alid .Mr. Adani.< would, ap- 
poi.'it our friend, Henrv Clay. Secieiary of State, 
it vou expected iiil' to vote for CJeneral Jackson, 
)'ou expected ine to do that which I could tiot and 
would not do." 

Sigued, Jacob Frizzle, Jesse Hamriek, 
Henrj Halbert, Ju/iu Griffith, 
David C. Heath, Jl'illiuin' Davis, 
iViltiam Coffrin, Heztkiah Griffith, 
Richard Pell, Mm. Ilnnhlin, 

John Hendrick, David Tonkry." 

There are further proofs of iMr. Tritii- 
ble's excuse ; but it is needless to quote 
them. 

HON. THO.MAS Metcalfe's excuse. 

Among the evitlence taken before the 
Senate of Kentucky is the following, viz.: 

J:jhn S Hltl, of Bourbon, stated that in 1S2.3, 
on the -llh or 5;h of January, he went into Wa.-'h- 
iDf;ton city in the eveni.-.g. and was in company 
with General Metcalfe, and asked him for infor- 
mation relative to the Presidential election. He 
said I.e ki.ew little inoie than when he first aniv 
ed, or thau^witness ; that the friends ol Jackson 
would coinWo us and say — t\'e hear you are go- 
ing to v.ite for Mr. Adams ; and the' friends of 
AoaLis would come to us and say — We under- 
stand you are going to vote for Jackson ; and so 
ofthefriendj of Mr. Crawford. That we stand 
unco:ijmitted,aiid we must know something about 
how the Cabinet is to be filled." 

The followinff is extracted from a state- 
inent of John Desha, dated Nov. 17, 1S27, 
viz.: 

" After the common salutation took place, ! 
said, ' Weil, General, you have made us a Presi- 
<lent.' 

He answered, ' Yes.' 

' Do you think the people of Kentucky will be 
pleased with your vole'' 

' 1 think they will «hen they hear my reasons.' 

' \N'hat are vour reasons, .^irf' 

' Why, we could not possibly get Mr. Clay in 
■the Cabinet withoct voting for and electing Mr. 
Adams; and we could not do witfiout Mr. Clay's 
talents.' " 

Mr. WniTi; (Mr. B. yieldinw the floor) 
ahked if Mr. Clay's district, from.lhat day 
to tiii.s, had elected any other Represen- 
tative than an anii Jack.son inanr 

.Mr. Boyd replied, he ihou^Mit not. lie 
lield that every gentleman should repre- 
sent first the views of hts own consiiiueuts; 



but there could be no doubt that Mr. Clay's 
district was then tor Oen. Jackson for the 
Presidency, over Mr. Adams. 

?.ir. WniTi: made some remark dissent- 
ing from this opinion. 

MR. clay's COMLSSION — HIS OWN' AGENCY 
IN CONTKOLLI.NU TIIF, EVK.VT. 

Among the Kentucky members of Con- 
gress who voted for Mr. Adams was the 
Hon. David White, who represented the 
Frankfort District. JMr. White, as well 
as a vast majority of his constituents, was 
in favor of Gen. Jackson against Mr. Ad- 
am.-^. From many leading men among his 
consiitiiPiits lie received letters shortly 
before the election, informing liim, in sub- 
stance, tliat they would be better satisfied 
with i\Ir. Adams President and Mr. ('lay 
Secretary of Stale, in view of his further 
advancement, than with Gen. Jackson 
President, without any provision for Mr. 
Clay. As specimens of these letters, I 
submit a couple of extracts, which were 
published in iSiiS. 

E.XTRACT of a Letter from the Tlim. J. J. 
Critlendeiu now of the United States Sen- 
ate, to the Hon. David White, dated 
Frankfort, Jan. 19, IS'io. 

" Thinking »s I do of Mr. Clay — of his great in- 
tegrity, his lolly American spirit, and his consum- 
mate ability — I believe it to be hisrhly important, 
to the puolic intere.st that he should occupy a dis- 
tinguished station in the Executive Dep.ntment. 
Under all present circumstances, my first wish in 
regard to this subject (and it is one dictated both 
by my personal partialities and considerations of 
the public irood) would be, ttiat Jackson should 
be the President, and Clay his .Secretary of State; 
and 1 really do believe that the common good i« 
more concerned in Clay's being Secretary, than it 
is in the question whether Jackson or Adams 
should be the President.' 

Extract of a Letter from F. P. Blair^ 
Esq. to the Hon. David H'Aj/e, dalecE 
Frankfort, Jan. 19, 1825. 

Mr. Blnir. after commenting on the reso- 
lutions of the Legislatwre, says: 

" But iiotwith.--tanding the adverse circumstanct? 
that Mr. Clay was identified with the minority, 
which, with the judge-breakers, (of whom I caa 
s])eak freely, being one myself,) was considered 
in tile fervor of roused feeling as almost being an 
enemy; yet, if it had been curtain that his tuture 
prospects for the Presidency would be materially 
affected by it, I do not believe Ilu>4 the vote oi» 
the resolutions would have passed. Or if it fiatt 
been thought that Adams would be elected, and 
if elected would give Mr. Clay the highest place 
in his Cabinet, there is scarcely a doubt but tint 
the vote would have been ia favor of Adams. But 



17 

Ihe vote was taken under very different suppcsi- on oaili before the Senate of Kentucky, 



tions. 

" For my own part, I have no hesitation in say- 
ing, that altiiough Jackson is persoiwilly pivfeiied 
to Adams by the people, (an inclinaiion I fuel in 
common with thera,) yet, it'it were l;nown that 
Jacksoii woui/i give such direction to thu coui>e 
of his Administration, by iiis r.ppointuients or 
otherwise, as to luster Adams' lutuie vievv3 in 
preference to Clay's, there would be but one sen- 
timent ainonii^ the supporters of the latter in Ken 



lliat as ail iiuliicemeiit to liini to write tr> 
Mr. While, lie was informed by Mr. V. P. 
Blair, three or four weeks before the Pre- 
sidential election, that ii' Mr. Adams were 
elected he would make Mr. Clay Secre- 
tary of Stale. 

"J. Dudley, Esq. a Senator from Franklin and 
Owen counlios, beinjj called upon, made the fol- 



tucky. They would consider it as a desertion oI'| lowing statement on the llor ot" the Senate: One 
the true Western interests, which they fee! vitally ! day in January, 1"52.}, F. V. Blair came into the 
connected with the g^reat principles advocated by ! Senate Chamber, seated himself near me, and in 



Mr. Clay, and which they conceive in a fifitat 
measure depend for their consummation upon the 
success of his future exertions. If, iherefoie, il 
should be perceived thnt the tendency of General 
Jackson's measures, as Pi esident, w ould be to sup- 
plant Mr. Clay by promoting the views of Adams, 
then I have no doubt that the voice of all tl-.ose 
who are in favor of Mr. Clay would be, ' If we 
are doo.med to have Mr. Adams as Pre-ident at 
some time, let us have him now; if he has Gen. 
Jackson's preference, let the General himself 
make way for him. We would rather have liim 
now, at the expense of Jackson, than hereafter, at 
the expense of Clay. But if Jacksoii gives earnest 
that he will throw his wei;iht ii.to the Western 
scale, then let us throw our weiglu into his.' 
This, I believe, would be the decision of ihree- 
fourths of the people of Kentucky." 

By these and many other letters of sim- 
ilar import, JMr. White was induced to vote 
foi Mr. Adams, believing that he was com- 
plying with the wishes of his constituents. 
In a Letter to the Editor of the Ar^us, 
dated June 27th, 1&28, Mr. White him- 
self uses the following language, viz.: 

'•These letters, witli many others of a like im- 
port, and on the same subject, were received by 
me between the last of January and the 5th of 
of February, 1525. My correspondents were nu 



(juired my opinion on the resolutions passed, re- 
questing our members of Congress to vote for 
General Jackson as President of the United 
States. Mr. B. desired that I would write letters, 
requeeting the members, and particularly D. 
^Vhite, from this district, to consult witli Mr. 
Clay, and \ote as he miglit de?ire. To this [ 
objected, and ga\e my reasons therefor. JMr. B. 
appeared surprised that I should rr.ise any objec- 
tion'', particulaily as I was opposed to the resolu- 
tions. He said that a number of members of both 
Houses, who voted for the resolution, had writ- 
ten such letters, and that I could do it with more 
propriety. He said, if Mr. AVhite could be in- 
duced to vote for Mr. Adams, he would obtain the 
vote of Kentucky, and with it the votes of most 
of the Wf stern States, which would elect him; 
in which case Mr. Clay would obtain the ap- 
pointment of Secretary of State. I then inquired 
how that fact had been ascertained. His answer 
was, that letters had been received from gentle- 
men of undoubted veracity, at Washington cit}', 
containing such information, and I might rely 
with confidence on that statement." 

M>\ Blair, when called on by the Sen- 
ate of Kentucky, as a witness, to state how 
he got the information which he had com- 
municated to IMessrs. Kendall and Dudley, 
refused to be sworn or to testify ; but con- 
cluded an explanation he made totheSen- 



merous, and from the cDincidence of their views ^^^ -^ j,,g f^Uo^ving manner, viz 
and sentiments, 1 lial reason to believe that it t ° 



would be most agieeuLle to my constituents, and 
strictly consistent with the wishes of a majority 
of them, to adopt the course which I did finally 
pursue. That such communications, voluntarily 
made, from highly respectable and intelligent 
gentlemen, differing on local politics, and leaders 
of parties at that time, on a subject of such deep 
interest and pressing emergency as that of the 
election of a Chief Magistrate, should have a pow- 
prfiil influence on my mind, is perfectly natural. 
That I was confirmed in my vote by their sugges- 
tions, [ do n\ely acknowledge ; and, therefore, as 
1 have often lieretofore frankly avowed, I now 
state, that I voted for Mr. Adams with a uew to 
promote Mr. Clay's luture prospects for the Pre- 
sidency." 

How these Letters came to be written 
was a su!)ject of inquiry and investigation 
in Keiitfickv during the Presidential can- 
vass of 1S2S. 

Mr. Amos Kendall, then Editor of the 
Western Argus, stated in his paper, and 



' He had not communicated to any one the 
grounds on which he had made his statement to 
Mr. Kendall, nor had he shown the letters to 
which the gentleman ailuded to any person to 
whom they were not addressed." 

JMr. Crittenden had publicly denied 
that he had received letters from Wash- 
ington, of the characterin question, and up- 
on Mr. Blair the public attention was fixed 
as the channel throujih which the informa- 
tion hatl come from ?ilr. Clay, or some one 
else at Washington. ]\Ir. Clay was called 
upon to remove the injiinclion of secresy, 
and let his letters to Mr. Blair come be- 
fore the public. Feeling the injurious in- 
ferences every where drawn from the posi- 
tion in which Mr. Clay had been placed 
by the investigation into which his friends 
in the Senate of Kentucky, had been in- 
duced to enter, /. Ilarvie, the Chairmaa 



IS 

of tlie Adams' Committee nt Frankfort,! contains, than that the public should have only 
Kcniuckv, on the l4th April, 1S-2S, ad- "^^ '■^""'•^'^"ons of some of its most prominent 

dressed a Letter to Mr. Qnv. in wliich lie L^ff?:";:,,!'/?""';", ;^^' ^'°'!''. <:'^'"'"itte^;^ilj 
, r- 11- • • /• I • leei at lioer.v lO adopt a step v.-hici can onl.'tend 

requested for publication copies ol Ins cor- I to guard Mr. Clay a-ainst luiiconceptions i.nd 
respoiidencc both with iMr. B'air and Mr. j iDisr.!presentation«, I have to request that yo'i will 
Kendall. Mr. Clay's reply must have been i """f"'^'' "^e with a copy of tlut letter, i his re- 
sell considered; for u'was not vvritten I ^i'.^V J:/,;!,f ^r^'^^f '"''^^^ 

-,,.,.., i- II • IT . '*-•-». Ill vvnicn I ilo not p.Tceive any e.xpresjion 
ur.iil the oih ol June following. He ac!- ■ -• ' ■ • •• • 

milled the e.vistence of a conespoiidence 
with Mr. Blair on the subject of the Pre- 
sideniial election ; but aftsr giving some 



reasons, or rather excuses, for his course, 



not decorous towards the piblic. An answer oi 
this day. or early to-uiorro.v inornini;, i« solicited. 
•Yours, kc. A.MOS KE.N'DALL.' 

The chairman received the note with that 



suavity a:nl politpatss lor wliich he is sj j'lst'y 
distinjruislied. kindly rpiiirtrkii)>,' to mv friend who 




tion of any };e[itl<»man, of anv party, all such jior- "^'f?- , - .,- -.- -j 

tions of it as relate to the late Pre-idential dec- 'he chaii-uian, expect any thing; favorable fror.T the 
(ion, and I will do the same upon any such apnli- dejibjrations cf the committee, I feel c<>[npelled to 
caiion being ii;ade to ine." ' | resort to my leccilectioiis for the substance oi your 

; letter to .Mr. Blair. 
On .npplicatiori to the committee, how- i Let the date be recollecte!— ('/ ;? J.nnary Sth, 
ever, it was found that ihev had no copy ^ ^*-^- ^'°'J commence by -rivins: Mr Blair your 

to show ; nor had Mr. Clay taken any °'''"'°" "f"'" ''' ''"'j' ^y ^'"^^ Byron -.vhich yoii 
ol.,,, .^ r • 1 .1 T-i "^ ^ I Siiv yot) have sent lum—(fianhed, I presume ) 

step to lurnish them. The sensation pro- ! You then enter into the subject of the Pre.-iden- 
duced by a knowlcd^rc oi this fact, com- tial election, and say, that ths time has now ar- 
J>elled the committee to apply to Mr. '"'^'^'' when yow nuist beijin to think seriou-.l7 

Blair for copies, without .Air. Clav's order, fXrl^M^ ^ii m'""' '"r 'T'' T^l' ''"'.'tK''""' '^^ 
„. I • ' (. ■ , , rr,, ■:. ,, liiencN ol all ihe canlitiates entertained the opj.i- 

and copies were furnished. The (ollowmg ; k... that on yoi rested the decision oi t.he coa- 
ls Mr. Kendall's account of them, given , test, and that your situation was sinjular and 
at the time, in a Letter addres>ed to Mr. ^muting;. You say that the friend? of rh'^ several 

Clay, through the columns of the Arcrus,' ^'"'''''Y'^; T'''^ ^""Z" '"'"' 'I'^S'^ ^^*''"' ^^' 
.. ;; ° ui I IV, -^'-,"^5 1 (_,e.,eral Jackson Sdvs lo you, 'Mydearsir, my 

'^" I hopes are upon you — do not disajipoint v.-: cur 



panied by those letters from Mr. Blair, • showing i candidates: had you been returned to the Hoj«^e, 
Jn what sense he understood them,' to which yoii ! ^^'^ ^houl i all have concentrated our force nporx 
allude; for I aver, Ihat no candid man can road it i'?"-'. Tb" langiia.;e of Mr. Adams' frienJs you 
wi'hout a psrff'ct conviction that th-- vofeof Ken- o'^'*^ '"^ nearly the following words: 

lucky wa-i given to Mr. Adams for the purpose of '^ '"i""-) "*M" \a..„, „-. „ . ..„-*3,*-,_„ 

promoling your personal aggrandizement. In- 



deed, it is impossible for me to conceive how any 
other construction can be put upon the lettpf, 
than that the friends of Mr. .Adams had prowiised 
you the first olfice in his gift, with their fi:1ur!.- 
fuppor* ; that your friends had determined to vote 
for .Mr. Adams on that iccount; and that you 
were using personal exertions tj bring the inetn- 
ber? of Congress into your views. 

Not wishing to expose myself to the slightest 
imputation of misrepresi-niing the contents of 
your letters, 1 determined to make no remarks on 
that of the 2!);h January, and wrote to the chair- 
man of the AdmJaistrution Committee the follow- 
ing note : 

• Fr.\nkfoi:t, Julv 2. 1?2S. 

Sir: I intend to use cert.iin parts of .Mr.Glay's 
letter to Mr. Blair, dated Sth of Janu.'ry, l.S2j,'in 



'A Iripnd of Mr. .Ad.uns comes to me, with tears 
in hisct^es, and says— Sir, Mr. Adam? has always 
had the greatest r.spect for you, and the highest 
admiration for your talents. There is no station 
to which you a.-e not c-cjual. You were undoubt- 
edly the second choice of New England ; anrt I 
pray you to consiiler whether ilie public goo<l and 
your own future interests do not dis'inctly pnint 
you to the couise which yoi ougiit to pjrs:;e.' 

You' then give some reasons why Mr. Adams 
should be preferred to General Jackson, among 
which I remember only the statement, that the 
Ohio delegation had deterini.ned to vote for Mr. 
Adams, the alleged want of <]uaIifirations in the 
General and his military propensities. You ihen 
ileclare distinctly, and in nearly the following 
words — 

' My friends entertain the belief that their kind 
wishes towards me will, in the eid, be more 
likely to be accomplished by so bestowing their 



my replj- to the attack made on me by that gen- ,„v.,j ^^ „,., ut,.^.^. ;.=... 

llemaii through your committre ; ami I deem it I votes.' 

mere proper, and more just to him, th.it it should j You thea declare, tliat you have urged them 

be published entire, with all the views which it I to be governed by their views of the public good 



I 



19 



alone, and aver that you have been influenced 
only by that consid*»ration. In conclusion, you 
use nearly the followinj; words : 

'Your Representative i5! inclined to concur wiiii 
us in these sentiments; and as I know liii iPs'p'ct 
for your opinion, I requpst, it you concur in our 
views, that you will write to hiin hy return inaii. 
to streniJthen hun in his inclinations. Show ihis 
to Crittenden alone." " 

This statement as to the contents of 
that Letter went llie rounds ot" the Jack- 
son papers througli the whole Union in 
IvS^Jri, and its accuracy was never denied. 
1 am informed that tlie passages niarked as 
quoted are nearly, it not precisely, literal 
extracts from the Letter, liaving been ob- 
tai:ied through several persons wlu) snc- 
cessively called and read the Letter, with 
the concerted dosicrn of gretiincr acciiraie 
extracts throuiih thrir concurrent recollec- 
tions. This Letter cstal)lished the fact 
beyond controversy, that the •• kind 
wishes'' of Air. Clay's trieiuls towards 
him. indticed them to bestow tlicir votes 
on Mr. Adams; and that lie Iiimself, well 
understanding their intention and its ob- 
ject, was directly inslnimentai in a secret 
movement to inflnencc the vote of a hesi- 
tating colleague, througli apparently spon- 
taneous letters from his constituents. After 
that disclosure, few ventured to deny, in 
lS-28, that the advancement of .Mr. Clay. 
was the confrollin<r motive with him and 
his friends, in giving the Presidency to 
jMr Adams. 

My coileagne, (Mr. While,) the other 
day, denied the charge of barjiain, or un- 
derstanding, in the Presidential election of 
lS'-25, and went on to say : 

"This was ten fjrave a charge to be made on 
such vague and uncprtain [^rounds. Until that 
letter was produced, there was not, in his yiiU^- 
ment, any evidence before the country tiiat that 
letter had. ticen wiit'en; and he now challentjed 
Ids colleigue, and he would be responsible lor it. 
that if Mr. Clay was called on he would take ott" 
every shackle from the correspondence. Ami 
unless his colleague produced the letter, he said 
his allegation stood conden)n"d before tiie Ameri- 
can people and the civilised world.'' 

He further said : 

"That be had never heard of the letter fill he 
saw the letter of his colleague. He Jiad never 
seen it in his life. And he had only to say, in 
relation to if, tliat if there was any such letter, 
and his coller'i^ue «oiild addr-ss a liae to .Mr. 
Clay, he would throw otf all the shackles, and dis- 
clofc to him all the correspondence.'' 

Both ?»Ir..C'ay and Mr. Blsir are now 

in the city, and no doubt the Letter is slil! i 

preserved. I propose to my coileague to] 



join me in a call on Mr. Clay for its pub- 
lication. It is due to the country and to 
-Mr. Clay hiinself, that all mystery sliall 
be removed from this transaction. Jf he 
can show that such a Letter doe.s not and 
never i!id exist, 1 will take all the pains in 
my power to retrieve his character from 
any imputations which its ailedged coa- 
tonts have brought upon it. 

Mr. [j asked the (Jlerk to read tlie form 
of a joint Letter to Mr. Clny whi'ih he in- 
vited his colleague to sign with himself, 
and il was read, as follows, viz.: 

" House of Rr:PRESF..N-TATtvEs, 
'• Attril -IS, li 14. 

"StK : Tiie public notice having been called 
to a letter said to have been written by vou at 
Washington city the Sth of January, iS2.5, 
addressed tc Francis V. i31air, then a resident 
of Frankfort, Kentucky, touching; the thea 
pending Presidential elcclinn, in which it is 
charged you said to 3ilr. Blair, timong other 
things, in substance as follows: 

'A friend of Mr. Adams comes to me with 
tears in his eyes, and says, Sir, Mr. Adams 
has always had th.:^ greatest respect for you, 
and the highest adniiration for your talents. 
There is no station to which you are not 
equal. You were undoubtedly the second 
choice of New England, and [ pray you to 
consider whetiicr the public ^'•ood and your 
own future interests do not distinctly point 
yot) to the course which you ought to pursue. 

'My friends entertain th.p. belief that their 
kind wishes towards me will, in the end, be 
more likely to be accomplished by so bestow- 
ing their votes. Your representative is in- 
clined to concur with us in these sentiments; 
and as I know his respect for your opinions, 
I request, if you concurin our views, that vou 
will \vrite to him by return mail to strengthen 
him in his inclinations. Show- this to Critten- 
den alone.' 

" To avoid all misapprehension, therefore, 
and to the end that even-handed justice may 
be done to all, we respectfully ask to be in- 
formed whether such u letter ever existed, 
and if so, that you will furnish for publication 
(if within your reach) the original or a copy 
of said letter; or if nor, within your reach, 
that you will give full authority to .Mr. Elair 
to |>ublis!i said letter, or a certified copy of it. 

'• Respectfully vour obedient .servanis, 

" Hon. H. Clav." 

Mr. \YHiTE (Mr. B. yielding (he floor) 
remarked to his colleague, (iiat he could not 
enter into any such partnership. He could 
only say to his colleai^ue— and he did it with 
the utmost confidence— that if he would ad- 
dress such a letter to Mr. Clay, he no doubt 
would frankly respond to him,' and throw off 
every shackle upon the subject. 



20 

Mr. Bo)jd>.M, I choose to call on !\Ir. | well as the opinions of the editor of th® 
Clay and l»is fiiends in njy place, as a rep- liiclimond Enqnirer and oil>er!>-, to prove 
reaeiitative of the people, to give an ex-! his innocence. Hi< own declarations were 
planaiion as to this letter. I do not niet at the time hy proof of counter decla- 
care to encounter the abuse ! nii^ht receive i rations, and the opinions quoted were cx- 
from my disiinguished rt;llo\v-Keniiickian ; pressed while llieir authors were ignorant 
if I should a|)proach him on this subject of a lar<re portion of the evidence after- 
in my private capacity, 'iiiless I should go ■ wards elicited. He had not done Mr. 
under tlie shield of my colleaijue. But, i Ritchie the justice to state that, after the 
in my public cliaracter, I do not hesitate ' expressions quoied by him were used, he, 
to call on Mr. Clay and liis friends to tear j Mr. J{., on the disclosure of furtlier evi- 

ay the veil of mystery which hanjs derice, publicly recanted his first o|)iniori. 

und this letter. That it existed, we | Mr. AViiite (Mr. D. yieldino;) said his 
have the admission of Mr. Clay himself, colleague, in every statement he had pro- 
in his refusal to lei it be published in 1S*28; fessed to give, had stated it faiilv, as far 
of its substance, and a portion of its Ian- as he had gone, but he had omitted niucli 
guage, we have a statement which lias re- ,' of the testimony. With reference to the 
mained over fifteen vears uncontradictcil Richmond Enquirer, he would refer his 
and unexplained. If there be any thing j colleague to tlie article in that |)aper of 
viong about it — any misrejireseiitation or , February, lS2o, for his ( Mr. W 's) quota- 
misconception — let us have the letter ; let I tion, of which ]Mr. Ritchie complained, 
the world judge for itself, and let ample ' and he would find that he (Mr. IV.) hail 
justif-e be done to ^Ir. Clay, as well as to taken every line, every syllable which had 



awa 
arc 



those who are accused of bringing false 
cnarges against him. 

His (Colleague had asked the other day, 
how he, Mr. Boyd, could advert to the evi- ' Ritchie. 

dence in this case without a blush; and now, | But if the opinions of men are to be ta- 
said Mr. B,, if blushes rise on reading such : l<en as irood evidence in favor of Mr. Clav 



any just application to the matter. 

Mr. Boyd said, as to- that matter, he 
would turn his colleague over to Mr. 



testimony, they will be on oilier cheeks 
than mine. 

Mr, White said he did not intend the 
remark for his colleague. 

Mr. Boyd said, Sir, although impartial 



they are equally good against him. What 
will mv colleague make of the followinj:? 

'•• / «sse)7," says Mr. McDullie, of South 
Carolina, "and am icilling to st ike my hum- 
ble stnrk of repvtatinn upon the trulli of Uir 



men may believe, as I do myself, that there j csseriion, tha! the cirannstaacesof the cxtmor- 



%vas no technical bargain entered into be 
tween Mr. Adams and Mr. Clay, in their 
own proper persons, yet it does seem to 



dinary coalition between Adams and Clay fur- 
I nish as stron^- evidence of an ahaitdonmcnt of 
\ political principle on the part of Mr. Clay, and 

of a corrupt political baru;ain between him and 



me, t>iat no one free from prejudice can \ Mr. .Hams, as is ordinarily required to estah- 

carefully examine the circumstances and Ush the <j:uill of those who arc charged in a 

evidence in the case without the most tho- ' court of quarter sessions ivilh the common 

rough conviction that \l wrvs undersioodl crimes known to the law.'" 

by the parties that Mr. Clay's appointment i I could point to a distinguished mem- 

to the office of Secretary of Stale would j her of Congress on this floor who is saij 

result from the election of JNIr. Adains to "'so to have concurred in a strong expres- 

the Pre.,ideiicy : that the vote of Ken- '=io" "' op'iiion on this subject. 

lucky was cast for Mr. Adams with that j ^^^- Wkllki; inquired to whom the 

view, and for the further object of promot- gentleman alluded. 

ing Mr. CUy'.s prospects for the Presiden- 1 i^r. Bovn replipil, Mr. Wir.i.oiGiiRr 

cy, in utter disregard of the wiil of (hat I Newton. The resolutions were as fol- 

Siate. And in this, the most favorable lo"''= ' 

viewof the transaction, it merited tiic con-! "H'-sidved, Tim \\(- rc-ard the ovi(Ienco 

demnalion it has received at the hands of alread_v before the public as amply sumcieiit 

the Ara^rican |)enplc. 

Mr. HoYD said liia colleague had intro. 
(luced in evidence .Mr. Clay's own decla- 



to verify the charsc of a corrupt understand- 
ing; hetwcn John t^. Adains ^nd Ilcnry Clay, 
by "hich tliey wt-re ouablcti to elev.ite each 
other to ollice, contrary to the strongest indi- 



rations lo G?n. Lafayette am! oih.'i-=. as _ cations of the ui.«.lics o"f the people 



21 



Res(dvc(L That we regard llie example (bus 
set, of exposing to auction the his;liest oflices 
ol" State, as an indelible stain on the lepubli- 
can party of our country, and ;is marking; the 
approach of that decay of jiublic; morals, 
■\vhicli is ihe constant forerunner of the ruin 
of republics." 

An address of tlie Central Jackson Com- 
ir.iltee for North Carolina, understood to be 
from the pen ol Geo. E. Badger, Gen. Ilar- 
rison'i late Secretary of the Navy, was issu- 
ed in IS'^S, which contains the following 
opinion as to the considerations upon whicli 
Mr. Adams was elected, viz : 

"Thus, tlien, as we conceive, it sv.fficiently 
appears that .luckson, the man of the people, 
■was, at the last election, defeated, not upon 
any considerations of comparative merit be- 
tween Mr. Adams and himself, but in order 
that iMr. Clay might be Secretary of State, 
and heir apparent to the Presidency. And 
can it be seriously contended that you ousht, 
or that you properly can, pve your sanction 
10 this apostacy from principle — your support 
to this ambitious project? Because Mr- Clay 
once forgot his dut}' and imposed upon the 
nation a President whom the nation did not 
desire, ougiu you to forget your interests and 
and j'our rights, offer a reward to treachery. 
and thus set an example fatal to the fair and 
equal operation of our Constitution? To 
assert that you ought, seems little short of an 
insult to common sense."' 

On the title-page of this address, T find 
the names of the Jackson electoral ticket 
for IS'28, amoiifr whom are Willie P. 
JMangum, now President of the Senate, 
E. B. Dudley, and other distinguished cit- 
izens of North Carolina. 

In 1827 the Tennessee Legislature, with 
only two negatives in the Senate, and 
unanimously in the House of Representa- 
tives, adopted a preamble and resolutions 
Avhich contain the following declarations, 
■viz : 

" Political hostility and personal estrange- 
ment had for several years, and on momen- 
tous subjects, separated himself and Mr. Clay. 
iS'o approach to union, no inclination for 
amity, was manifested by either, until it was 
ascertained that, as long as they obeyed the 
principles and supported the opinions which 
had formed their respective pretensions and 
produced their avov.ed opposition, the power 
at which they grasped was not to be gained ; 
that continued disunion would frustrate, and 
that instant combination would ii-ralify their 
mutual ambition — then, and not till then, 
long cherished distrust wc\s mutually forgot- 



ten ; oft expressed opinions were practically 
renounced, and adverse principles openly 
abandoned. Each became the artificer of 
that man's promotion, whose depression, up 
to the monifnt, had been a chief object of bis 
exertion. The highest aniount of Executive 
power was divided, and the closest fraternity 
of political fortune was established between 
them. What is enormous nee<l not be exag- 
gerated ; what is flagrant recpjires no demon- 
stration. Mr. .Vlanis desired the ofHce of 
President ; he went into the combination with- 
out it, and came out wiili it. Mr. Cla}- desired 
that of Secretary of State; he went into the 
combination without it and came out with it. 
Ol this transaction the simplest history is the 
best analysis."' 

" The members of this General Assembly, 
therefore, in protesting against the election 
of Mr. Adams as impure and anti-republican, 
are sensilile of no precipitancy of judgment, 
or too great license of language. Unwilling 
to assert what is doubtful, they are determin- 
ed to speak what is true; nor do the\' deem 
it necessary to fortify their protest by the nu- 
merous collateral proofs to be derived, either 
from the contradictions contained in the stu- 
died vindication of the Secretar}' of Slate; 
from the confessions of his friend, his col- 
league, and his champion, or from the perti- 
nent and concurring reminiscences of respec- 
table witnesses." 

Among those who voted in the afTirma- 
tive I find the names of E. H. Foster, pre- 
sent Senator, R. Cheatham, E. Hurst, and 
J. A. Rogers. 

I find also, that the Hon. John Bell, late 
Secretary of War, in a letter dated Sept 
ITth, lbii7, e.xpresseu the following opin- 
ions, viz : 

*' I have seen the highest and most impor- 
tant office in the Government filled by means 
and under circumstances affording all the 
evidences of a coalition formed upon the basis 
of mutual benefits to be received and confer- 
red, independently of any controverted point 
in the details, that the public can ever expect 
the light of, in any combination that has been 
or may be entered into, to defeat the will of 
the people. Ambitious and aspiring politicians, 
who have great characters to sustain,and sense 
enough to guard agiinst the common blun- 
ders of the less practised adepts in the arts of 
intrigue and management in forming coali- 
tions, will but seldom expose themselves to 
the danger of detection Irom positive proof. 
It is not, therefore, in ni}' view, of so much 
importance to consider, whether a possibility 
of innocence can be admitted in favor of the 
parties implicated, as to determine whether 
the presumption to the contrary is not so great 
in the present instance/Jiat their continuar.ee 



o::^ 



in cff.cc uou'd be incompi'.i'jle wlh the safety 
ar.d well being of our jmlitical ir»stitutions."' 

Tlicsc opinions, I believe without ex- 
ception, were formed and expressetl before 
the (lisclosuie of Mr. Clay's letter to Mr. 
Blair, s-iiowiiii^ by what machinery, put in 
operation by Sir. Clay himself, the vote.-- 
of members of Congress were controlled. 
After that event liie people expressed ihcir 
opinion at the polls. Of the electoral votes 
there were nriven — 

For General Jack«on 209. 

For -Mr, Adam.s 0"2. 
C'the papular voles, there were given 

For Gen. .Jackson, aboi:t !34:j,0!)ti. 

For Mr. Adanis. about 007,41\3. 
Thus was the coalition of Adams and 
Clay condemned by the country, chiefly 
on tiie ground that it was impure in its 
origin Nor do I think their judgment 
will be reversed, unless it be by a new- 
generation, who, like my co'league, nave 
never seen the testimony. 

Mr. B. then adverted to Mr. Clay's 
course on I he bankrupt law. There never 
was, siaid he, a more glaring ouirage on 
the will of constituents than Mr. Clay's 
refusal to vote for the repeal of that law at 
the session of 1841-2. TiironT;li the mem- 
bers of the House of Representatives, 
through the Legislature, through every 
practicable ch.annel, ilie will of the people 
of Kentucky had come up to their Sena- 
tors denianding their votes in favor of re- 
peal. Mr. Cla.y not only refused to vote 
for the repesil, but denounced the act he 
■was required to do as cruel and inhuman 
in the last degree, tliiis casting the severest 
censure on those wrio made the call on 
liim and on his colleagues in both Houses 
of Congress, who Irad yiPi<led a ready obe- 
dience. Prior to 18-24 Mr. Clay held the 
doctrine that a representative was bound 
to carry out the will of his constiiMents, 
no matter how he came to a knowledge of 
that will ; bi't in the Presidential election 
of that year, he violated his toitner princi- 
ples, and turned his back upon Democra- 
cy, that he might be, as he ever since has 
been, locked in the embraces of Federal- 
isra. 

Here the Speaker's mallet fell, indicat- 
ing the terminuMon of .Mr. Boyd's hour. 

N 1" E S . 
1. The opponents of Mr. Adams' Ad- 
niiiiiairalion, in K*.-ntuckv, or at least that 



l)ortion of them who had acquiesced in or 
;)romoted his election, did not at tirst 
cliarge as corrupt the uiiderstandir)g by 
which he was made President, and Mr. 
Clay Secretary of. State. The cliaracier of 
the controversy was changed, iiowever, by 
31 r. Clay's declarations in his Address to 
the Public, commenting on Gen. Jackson's 
Letter to Carter Btverly, daifd Lexingtor), 
"JGih June, lS-7. To appreciate the 
grounds of that change, the tollowing ex- 
tracts from that .Address should be read in 
I'o.inection with the fore-'cTiiig evidence, 
particularly the quotations from Mr. Clay's 
Lettf^r to Mr. P»lair. viz.: 

" I iiei"li<T iiiadf, nor aut!ioii-e<!, nor knew of, 
any proposition whatever to either of the three can- 
didates who werereiurned to Ihe House ofKepre- 
*enta1ives at the last Presidential election, or to 
liie fViem's of either of them, for the p;upo#e of 
iii!lue!.cii;g the lesnltcf 'he election, or lor any 
othcT pu:po5e. Ai:d all allpf!;atioii.=, intimations, 
and iiiueiuioe-i, that my vote, on tl at occasion, 
was oiiered to he given, or was in lact given, in 
coMsidt-mtion «>f any stipulation or understand!, g, 
exj)ies5ed or implied, direct or ii.uirett, written 
or verbal, that I was, or that ariy othi-r person 
was !;ot, to be appointed Secretaiy c/ Slate, or 
that I was, in anj other manner, to b/per.-onally 
benef:tpd, are devoid of all tiulh, and destitute of 
any foundation whatever. ' 

'• It will be imiveisally ac'mitted, that the accn- 
safion is of the most seiious nature. Hardly any 
more atrocious could be preferred against a Rep- 
resi;ntative oithe people in his olluidl character. 
The cl;ari;e in substance is, that deliberate " pio- 
I'osit'ons of bargain" were made by my Oongress- 
i '.nal friends coilecliv. ly, through an authoiised 
and distinouished meinoer ot C'ongrtss, to Gen. 
Jatlcson ; that their object vvf.s, by tluse ' means 
ol bargain and corruption,' to exclude Mr. A."lani3 
trom tiie Dt-partinent ot St.tte, or to secuie my 
promotion to olfice; and that f was privy, and as- 
sented to tho=e propositions, and to the employ- 
ment of those means. Such being the accusation 
and th.e pioseciitor, and the issue betvvt en us, I 
have now a rig'nt to expect that he will substan- 
tiate his charoes by the exhibition ol satisfactory 
evidence. In that event, there is no punishment 
which would exceed the measure of niy ot^tnce. 
In the opposite event, what ought to be the judg- 
ment of tl e American public, is cheeifully sub- 
mitted to their wisdom and justice."' 

2. Some Wliig Editor recently fabricat- 
ed a sfatomcnt, tjiai Gen. Jackson, in a 
Letter to Gen. Hamilton, had ac<]uiltetl 
Mr. Clay ofthe charge of bargain in the 
electioii of IS'25, so extensively made and 
believed. It is fortunate for the cause of 
truth, that the venerable hero has lived to 
put his veto on this fabrication. 

A CARD. 
To the Editors of the Hashville f'niou. 

(iK.VTLKMKN : My attention has been called to 
various newspaper articles referring to a letter 



23 



said to have b^Ti writti^n by me (o G'?n. Hamil- 
ton, recaating the chaii^t? of baigai;; made asjaiiist 
Mr. Cl.iy when he voted for Mr. Adams i:i 1825. 

To init an end to all such riiinor?, I feel it to 1)> 
due to myself to sta*e. that I have no recollection 
of ever having written such a letter, and do not 
believe there is a letter from nie to Gen. Hamilton, 
or ar.y one else, that will bear such a constrsictioii. 
Of the charges brought ao;ain<!t both Mr. Adams 
and Mr. Ciay, at that time. I formed my opinion 
?.3 tie country at large did— tVcm facts" and cir- 
cuii:3tances that were indisputable and conclusive; 
and I may adu that this opinion has undergone no 
change. 

If Gen. Hamilton, or any one el?e. has a letter 
froic me on tiii; subject, wli ch the friends of Mr. 



Clay desire to make public, all that tliev have to 
do is to apply to l.im foi it. As for niyself, I have 
no secrets, and do not f^ar the pahlication of all 
that I have ever \vrittf;n on this or nuy other sub- 
ject. 

ANDREW JACKSON. 
Hermitage, May 3, i84l. 

3. Tlie Hon. Mr. Newton informs me, 
that he wa.s one of two or three dissen- 
tients from the rest of the ineeiiuo- who 
adopted the resolutions with which hi.s 
name stands connected in liie foroffoinT 
speecli. 



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